After Russia invaded neighbouring Ukraine, a video was viewed millions of times in multiple Facebook posts that claimed it shows fighting between soldiers from the two countries. In fact, the video has circulated online since 2010. A visual analysis of the clip found it corresponds with a raid by American and Iraqi troops on a shrine in Iraq in 2004.
A video that appears to show explosions in the French capital of Paris has been viewed thousands of times in misleading social media posts that claim it shows a real attack on the Eiffel Tower. The posts suggest the attack was carried out by Russian forces in response to sanctions from foreign powers following its invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. The footage, however, has been shared in a false context: it shows a fictional film created by a French director that was then shared online by Ukrainian officials in a bid to urge European authorities to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
There is no evidence Putin beheaded 12 bioweapon engineers in Ukraine.
This claim comes from Real Raw News, a blog that has shown a pattern of fabricating news about politicians being executed or arrested by the military.
Though the story claims Putin told former President Donald Trump about the alleged beheading, a spokesperson for Trump said the account is baseless.
The Space Foundation removed Yuri Gagarin's name from an upcoming fundraising event after it received derogatory and anti-Russia comments on its social media accounts.
The organization did not revoke any formal honors from the cosmonaut. Exhibits related to Gagarin are still on display at the foundation's gallery in Colorado, and his accomplishments will still be celebrated at the annual event, the group said.
Our ruling
A Facebook post claims, "the Space Foundation has erased the honors previously bestowed on Yuri Gagarin, the first man to ever be in space. His name was stripped 'in light of current events.'"
This is misleading.
The Space Foundation removed Gagarin's name from an event after it received derogatory and anti-Russian comments on its social media accounts due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But the organization did not revoke any formal honors from the cosmonaut. Gagarin's exhibits are still on display at the foundation and his accomplishments will still be celebrated at the event.
The post contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate it Mostly False.
A Canadian charity has for years donated firefighter gear to Ukrainians. A jacket bearing the name of the city Edmonton that appeared in live CNN coverage in Ukraine came from the group, the charity said.
An April 2019 Instagram post from the group shows piles of jackets bound for Ukraine. A 2018 post says: "Sharing more gear outside Lviv." The second photo in this post shows someone holding up a jacket that says "Edmonton" that resembles the one that appears in the CNN broadcast.
We rate claims that this jacket is evidence that CNN staged the scene, or that Lemon isn't in Ukraine, False.
Some social media accounts circulated this text, claiming it was a real quote from a speech that President Biden gave in Warsaw on Saturday, March 26.
President Biden however, did not say these words, not during his Warsaw speech, nor during any of his other public appearances. StopFake analyzed his public speeches as well as transcripts of meetings with media for the period of Februarty 24 through March 26, 2022. We did not find this criticism or any similar criticisms to have been uttered by the American President regarding the Ukrainian government.
On the contrary, an analysis of Biden's speeches shows that the statements circulated on the Internet contradict the position of the White House and what the US President has actually said.
Amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Russia over the invasion of Ukraine, a misleading photo posted March 22 on Facebook shows an American fighter jet intercepting a Russian bomber near Alaskan airspace. But the incident was not related to the current situation in Ukraine; the photo appeared in an article published in Aero Magazine in June 2020.
An Iron Cross visible on some of Zelenskyy's military green T-shirts is not a Nazi symbol. It represents the official emblem of Ukraine's armed forces and includes the country's coat of arms in the center.
The Iron Cross is a commonly used, famous German military medal. It's not a hate symbol on its own. It was turned into a Nazi symbol when the regime superimposed a swastika in the center.
Our ruling
Social media posts claim that a Nazi symbol can be seen on Zelenskyy's T-shirts.
This is wrong. The symbol visible on Zelenskyy's shirt is the official emblem of Ukraine's military and doesn't represent a Nazi Iron Cross.
We rate the claim False.
The aftermath of the attack on a maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, was captured on video and in photos showing that it was an actual attack.
A Pentagon spokesperson called OAN host Pearson Sharp's claims "ridiculous." Several independent experts who spoke to PolitiFact agreed that it was completely without merit. Russian officials have conceded the attack occurred.
Our ruling
Sharp said the attack on the Mariupol hospital had "the makings of yet another false flag operation" by the U.S.
There is no evidence that the attack was staged or a false flag carried out by the U.S. Its aftermath was documented by workers, witnesses and journalists on the ground.
We rate OAN's claim Pants on Fire!
A video of soldiers jumping out of a plane with parachutes has been shared tens of thousands of times on Facebook in South Africa alongside a claim that it shows US paratroopers joining the war in Ukraine. But this is false: the footage, which has been viewed millions of times, has been online since at least 2016 and features US soldiers performing parachute drills at the Pope Army Airfield in North Carolina.