Category International community

Fake: President Zelensky Orders Catherine II Odesa Statue be Replaced with Monument of US…

The Catherine II statue is the property of the Odesa City Council. The city of Odesa, and not the Ukrainian President will decide its fate. The Ukrainian President cannot single handedly order that the Odesa statue be demolished or replaced, he simply does not have the authority or the power to do so. This is the responsibility of the local city authorities. Russian media however chose to focus only on the petition which ironically proposes to replace a Russian empress with an American porno star, which gathered 26,468 signatures of support.

August 3, 2022

Disinformation Ukrainian culture Russian propaganda Coordinated disinformation Media taken out of context Fact checks / debunkings USA Methods Misconceptions Ukraine Russia International community

This clip shows a climate protest in Italy, not Ukrainian protesters in Spain

A video clip of motorists angrily dragging away demonstrators who were blocking a highway has been viewed tens of thousands of times in online posts that claim it shows Ukrainian anti-war protesters obstructing traffic in Spain. This is false: the clip was filmed in a highway in the Italian capital Rome. The group that staged the protest told AFP it showed a climate demonstration unrelated to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

August 1, 2022

Media taken out of context Fact checks / debunkings Methods Misconceptions Ukraine International community Italy Spain

Fake: NATO Confirms Russia Fighting ‘Not at Full Strength’ in Ukraine

A NATO Defense College report highlights that Russia appears unable to gain victory over Ukrainian forces, but expresses fears that the Kremlin may rebuild its army and accumulate forces to confront NATO countries in the future.

July 31, 2022

Disinformation Russian propaganda NATO Coordinated disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Ukraine Russia International community

Fake: Official Status for Ukrainian Language Demanded in Poland

Russian propaganda presented a single activist's social media post about the Ukrainian language as a popular belief held by all Ukrainians in Poland. In reality, Ukrainian refugees are not demanding that Ukrainian be made an official language in Poland. The Polish Constitution clearly states that the only official language in the country is Polish, which is spoken by a majority of people. If minorities constitute at least 20% of the total number of inhabitants of a given municipality, and their language is entered in the Official Municipalities Register, they have the right to use their own language as a secondary language. Today, the Ukrainian language does not have such a status in any of the municipalities.

July 30, 2022

Disinformation Ukrainian culture Russian propaganda Coordinated disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Poland Ukraine Russia International community

Photo Fake: Energy-Saving Light Bulbs Disappear in the UK due to Rising Utility Costs

The photo of empty shelves with supposedly sold-out energy-saving light bulbs was actually taken in a US supermarket at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

July 30, 2022

Disinformation Russian propaganda Coordinated disinformation Media taken out of context Fact checks / debunkings USA Methods Misconceptions Ukraine Russia UK International community

Fake: Ukrainian Refugees Destroy Spanish Forest While Attempting to Burn Russian Flag

The video circulating on social media has been edited - a running line claiming that a large fire in Spain was allegedly caused by Ukrainian refugees was deliberately added on the screen. In reality, the running line reported on the driver, arrested for assaulting a passenger and driving under the influence.

July 29, 2022

Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Faked news reports Methods Misconceptions Ukraine Russia International community Spain

Manipulation: UN Confirms No Injuries In Odesa “Ukrainian Military Target Strike”

The lack of victims from the Russian missile attack on the Odesa port on July 23 does not excuse Russia - it still carried out another act of aggression and violated the agreements made the day before. UN representatives did not say anything about the Russian attack on "military warehouses" in the Odesa port. On the contrary, the UN has once again condemned Russian attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure.

July 29, 2022

United Nations Disinformation Russian propaganda Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Ukraine Russia International community

Fake: Children are Taken Away from Ukrainian Refugees in Germany “for Having Emotion and…

StopFake found no evidence of Ukrainian refugees living in Europe having their children taken away from them. The German Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt) and the Youth Welfare Office (Jugendamt) are not aware of any such cases in the families of Ukrainian refugees.

July 29, 2022

Disinformation Children Russian propaganda Coordinated disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Germany Narratives Misconceptions Child trafficking Ukraine Organ farming Russia Protected groups & minorities International community

Fake: Russophobic Authorities in Barcelona Take Kids Away from Russian Woman

The story is certainly complicated, and the information currently accessible to the public is clearly not enough to draw any conclusions. But the topic of Western russophobia was clearly added to it by the correspondent of Channel One. The publications in Spanish and Swiss media do not mention that the problem is related to the war in Ukraine. They only cite Elena's words: "At school, the war in Ukraine is talked about a lot. They say that we, Russians, are all bad. And the girls would come home sad because of it" - without claims that it could have caused the children to be taken away. And the story that the girls are allegedly considered children of Ukrainians killed in the war is found only in Valentina Solovyova's story.

July 29, 2022

Disinformation Children Russian propaganda Coordinated disinformation Media taken out of context Fact checks / debunkings Dehumanizing others Methods Misconceptions Ukraine Russia Protected groups & minorities Hatred and bigotry International community Spain

FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show Dancers Performing At A NATO Event? | Check Your Fact

Verdict: False
The footage was taken during a 2017 event at the University of Ghent. The event was not affiliated with NATO.

July 28, 2022

Disinformation NATO Media taken out of context Fact checks / debunkings Methods Misconceptions International community