Category Germany

DISINFO: Intercepted German generals’ talk confirms the West is directly involved in Ukraine war

On 4 March 2024, the German Ministry of Defence announced that it had launched an investigation into a conversation between several German high-ranking military officials who are said to have discussed a possible attack on the Crimea bridge. The ministry said that the conversation was recorded in the context of a training exercise and that it was not clear whether the generals were serious or whether they were just playing a game. The ministry also said that the officials had been suspended from duty and that the investigation would determine whether they had violated their duty of loyalty to the constitution. ​​Their talk was not a formal one. It was just a discussion which did not decide anything.

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DISINFO: The Munich Security Conference has become a Western platform to defeat Russia

The Ukrainian state is under attack by Russia. More than 50 countries are participating in the Ramstein meetings and are providing military, financial or other assistance to Ukraine to restore its territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders. They do this rather than destroy the Russian state.

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DISINFO: Recrafting state borders in Europe may save sinking western economies

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about EU disintegration and a looming economic collapse of western countries' economies. As our past analysis explains, the 'imminent collapse' narrative is often used in pro-Kremlin outlets in relation to the EU, European countries, or capitalism and the purpose it to erode public trust and confidence in society, thus weakening morale in Western societies.

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Fact Check: Putin Defends Hitler’s Invasion of Poland in Carlson Interview

True.

Based on a Russian transcript of Vladimir Putin's interview with Tucker Carlson, Newsweek verified Putin said Adolf Hitler was "forced" to invade Poland, an inaccurate interpretation of the circumstances leading to World War II.

While translations do not use the word "forced" or "compelled", they broadly match its meaning.

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Fact Check: German magazine Titanic ‘s cover on celebrating Christmas in Ukraine is fake | Reuters

German satirical magazine Titanic did not publish a Christmas-themed cover depicting the severed legs of four Ukrainian soldiers hanging over a fireplace, and an image of this circulating online is fake, the editor-in-chief of the publication said to Reuters. [...]

VERDICT: False. No such cover was published by German satirical magazine Titanic.

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War in Ukraine: In 2023, Russian disinformation continued to dominate

Out of the 197 fact-checking articles our team wrote in 2023, 52 of them concerned the war in Ukraine. And 50 of those highlighted pro-Russian disinformation aimed at discrediting Kyiv and the Ukrainian war effort.

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Fake: German Defense Minister Refuses to Consider Ukraine an Ally

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius did not say that Ukraine is not an ally of Germany. In an interview with the German TV channel ZDF, he only emphasized that Ukraine is not a NATO partner of Germany and therefore the format of providing it with military aid is different than if the "united West" were directly at war with Russia.

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Fake: Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry Blackmails Germany to Get Weapons

Ukraine is preparing for a possible return of massive missile attacks by Russia on the country's energy system. In this context, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba noted that it is important for Ukraine to receive additional air defense equipment from its allies on the eve of winter.

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