Verdict: False
A CNN spokesperson denied the outlet published such an article. The man pictured has been falsely linked to similar tragedies in the past.
Social media users shared a photo claiming to show that a senior US military commander was among captives when Ukrainian soldiers defending the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol surrendered to Russian troops in May. But the claim is false; retired Admiral Eric Olson confirmed to AFP that he was not in Ukraine, and the photo appeared in Russian media a month before the surrender.
A photo has been shared hundreds of times in social media posts that claim it shows Russians queuing to purchase their final meal at a McDonald's restaurant before the American fast-food giant closed all outlets in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. Although local media reported that Russians flocked to McDonald's restaurants after the closure was announced, the photo has been shared in a false context. It was taken by an AFP photographer in January 1990 at the opening of the first McDonald's restaurant in the Soviet Union.
Politicians and experts shared a photo of burning books on May 21, claiming that the Russian army had begun getting rid of Ukrainian books in occupied areas. While Ukrainian authorities have reported cases of Russian soldiers destroying books, the photo actually shows a book burning organised by pro-Russian protesters in Crimea in 2010.
A video has been viewed thousands of times in multiple Facebook and Weibo posts alongside a claim it shows Russian troops blowing up a military convoy carrying US-supplied weapons to Ukraine. However, the claim is false; the clip in fact shows computer-generated imagery from a war video game called ARMA 3.
A story making the rounds online about Ukrainian refugees is false and is intentionally stylized as a Bild news story. In fact, the video is a collage of several videos from previous years.
A video viewed more than 300,000 times on Facebook has been shared alongside claims that it shows Russian and Ukrainian soldiers fighting in February 2022. This is false; the video, which has been online since at least 2019, shows troops of the French Foreign Legion in battle, although it remains unclear where the footage was filmed.
A Reuters photo of Ukrainians training for combat is being used as supposed evidence that the war there is fake. It's not.
A screenshot of a tweet by conservative activist Jack Posobiec is spreading on social media as evidence that the war in Ukraine is staged.
Trudy Rubin, a foreign affairs columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote from outside of Kyiv in February that civilian trainees were "practicing with cardboard guns or plastic paintball guns or hunting rifles from home until they are provided military weapons."
Even members of the U.S. military have used paintball guns for training exercises.
The war in Ukraine is real, and it has been well-documented by reporters and citizens on the ground in the country.
We rate claims that this photo proves it's being staged Pants on Fire.
Ukraine is not the only country saying that Russia has incurred significant losses in its war against Ukraine, the British Ministry of Defense has also said the same thing. Russian allegations that Ukraine is "producing propaganda that even the West does not believe" are simply lies. The heavy losses of the Russian army are becoming increasingly obvious not only to Ukrainians, but also to foreign analysts.
Despite jitters over the Ukraine war in many countries and Finland's decision to seek NATO membership, tanks have not been sent to the Finnish border with Russia, despite a viral video suggesting just that. We also look at false claims surrounding a recent protest in Paris.