Category Coordinated disinformation

Fake: US Running Out of Ammunition for Ukraine says CSIS

A study by the US think tank CSIS states that the United States may face shortages of certain types of weapons and ammunition. However, this will not be a problem for the American Armed Forces. The United States possesses more than enough interchangeable types of weapons.

Read MoreFake: US Running Out of Ammunition for Ukraine says CSIS

Does this video really show children on the front lines of the war in Ukraine?

Is Ukraine sending children to fight on the front lines of the war? That's what some people on social media are claiming. As proof, they cite a video showing three very young-looking soldiers, which has been circulating online since November 8. It turns out, however, that we could identify two of the three people pictured in the footage and they are young adults - 23 and 25 years old. Furthermore, our team spoke to the NGO Amnesty International, which said that it had no knowledge of documented cases of child soldiers in the Ukrainian Army.

Read MoreDoes this video really show children on the front lines of the war in Ukraine?

Fake: Ukrainian Tattoo Studio Offers 50% Swastika Removal Discount

StopFake checked the photo using Google and Bing image searches, and found that the photo used to create this latest fake is of a tattoo studio in Russia. The original photo shows a tattoo parlor called "Tattooirograf," which is located in Biysk, in the Altai Republic of southern Russia. In addition to this low-quality photoshop, Russian media also made a mistake with their special offer, writing the word "акция" ("discount offer") in Russian instead of "акція", as it would be spelled in Ukrainian.

Read MoreFake: Ukrainian Tattoo Studio Offers 50% Swastika Removal Discount

Five fact-checks about the war in Ukraine

Russia's invasion of Ukraine this year kept our fact-checkers very busy. We wrote 92 articles debunking false claims about information related to the war. These ranged from claims the Bucha massacre was staged to false TV reports and accusations of Nazism among Ukrainians. To mark the end of the year, we made a list of some of our top fact-checks about Ukraine.

Read MoreFive fact-checks about the war in Ukraine

This video was filmed years before the 2022 Ukraine-Russia crisis

A video that shows a military tank hurtling down the street has been viewed thousands of times in social media posts that claim it was filmed in Ukraine in January 2022, after Western leaders sounded the alarm over a potential Russian invasion. The posts are misleading; the footage was filmed in May 2014, when deadly clashes erupted between Ukrainian troops and separatists in the city of Mariupol.

Read MoreThis video was filmed years before the 2022 Ukraine-Russia crisis

Why are fake covers of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo circulating in Russia?

There have been at least six fake covers of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo circulating online, especially on Russian Telegram channels, over the past six months. And Charlie Hebdo isn't the only magazine targeted- fake covers of numerous international media outlets have also been circulating online since the start of the war in Ukraine. The FRANCE 24 Observers team spoke to an independent Russian media outlet that investigated these fake covers being posted.

Read MoreWhy are fake covers of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo circulating in Russia?

How we debunked reports of anti-Zelensky graffiti in a Paris suburb

Did graffiti depicting the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a black hole "absorbing European money" really appear on the streets of a Paris suburb? That's what a photo that has been circulating on social media since November 29 seems to show. However, our team found no trace of this graffiti at the actual site. Our forensic analysis of the photo shows signs that it was digitally altered. We also consulted some street art experts, who pointed out some inconsistencies in the art.

Read MoreHow we debunked reports of anti-Zelensky graffiti in a Paris suburb

Hoax news broadcast falsely claims to show Ukrainian Nazis arrested in Qatar

The Al Jazeera news network has denied broadcasting a video claiming Ukrainian fans were arrested in Qatar for adding Nazi graffiti to a picture of the World Cup 2022 mascot. The channel added that its logos had been used without its permission. No such arrest has been announced by the Qatari authorities and Ukraine did not even qualify for this year's football tournament. Additionally, many of the images visible in the clip - which repeats the Russian narrative that Ukraine is under the sway of Nazi ideology - are taken from events unrelated to the global competition.

Read MoreHoax news broadcast falsely claims to show Ukrainian Nazis arrested in Qatar

How a video game has been used to create fake news about the Ukraine war – Truth or Fake

Since February, several Facebook and Twitter accounts versed in disinformation have been regularly sharing impressive videos purporting to show the war in Ukraine. But these viral images actually come from a video game called Arma 3. How can you spot these realistic spoofs that have even fooled international media? In this episode, the Truth or Fake team asks Pavel Křižka, representative of Bohemia Interactive, the company that developed Arma 3.

Read MoreHow a video game has been used to create fake news about the Ukraine war – Truth or Fake