Category Coordinated disinformation

Trump rift opens floodgates of disinformation on Ukraine

Disinformation targeting Ukraine and its leader Volodymyr Zelensky is surging as US President Donald Trump's shift on the war frays relations with Kyiv and threatens to cripple support for the battle-worn nation. [...]

Joseph Bodnar, a researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (archived here), said the Russian influence efforts are focused "on fostering animosity between the Trump and Zelensky administrations."

"Russia wants to convince US negotiators that Ukraine is their enemy, not their partner. It's a means for the Kremlin to extract favorable terms in whatever peace settlement comes."

Read MoreTrump rift opens floodgates of disinformation on Ukraine

Fact Check: Did Ukraine ‘Psychological Warfare’ Unit Get $140M From USAID?

False. For the $140 million claim to have been true, USAID would have had to have paid out more to this "Psychological Warfare" center than most of its actual spending obligations.

The image used to support the claim was based on a nonexistent article, edited from a real but unrelated story by Fox News, not about Ukraine. The claim appeared on Russian Telegram accounts before it was spread widely by English-speaking commentators on X, formerly Twitter.

Read MoreFact Check: Did Ukraine ‘Psychological Warfare’ Unit Get $140M From USAID?

Trump’s False and Misleading Ukraine Claims – FactCheck.org

After U.S. and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia to discuss an end to Russia's war in Ukraine, President Donald Trump made several false and misleading statements about the conflict and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Trump falsely claimed that Ukraine had "started" the war with Russia, saying the country could have made a "deal." Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

He inflated the amount of U.S. aid for Ukraine and wrongly said the U.S. gave "$200 billion more than Europe." Aid from Europe is higher than that from the U.S.

Trump distorted comments Zelenskyy made to claim that the Ukrainian president "admits that half of the money that we sent them is missing." A Trump administration official has said the U.S. tracks the money.

Trump called Zelenskyy a "dictator" and misleadingly said that he "refuses" to have elections. Because of the war, the country is under martial law and can't have an election, according to Ukrainian law.

Read MoreTrump’s False and Misleading Ukraine Claims – FactCheck.org

Did Ukraine start its war with Russia, as President Donald Trump said? No, Russia invaded

Media outlets worldwide covered Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged it as a "special military operation," saying the offensive would "seek to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine."

For years, Russia has sought to blame Ukrainian actions for its invasion.

Read MoreDid Ukraine start its war with Russia, as President Donald Trump said? No, Russia invaded

Trump’s ‘make peace or die’ message to Putin is deepfake – yet it fooled Russians

On Jan. 27, Andrey Isayev, a member of Russia's State Duma (the lower house of parliament), accused U.S. President Donald Trump of trying to "rudely" force Russian President Vladimir Putin to start peace negotiations with Ukraine. [...]

"Trump threatened our president rather rudely, it must be said, pressuring to start the negotiations and reminding of Qaddafi's fate."

The claim is false.

Read MoreTrump’s ‘make peace or die’ message to Putin is deepfake – yet it fooled Russians

Fake: USAID Funded Hollywood Celebrities’ Visits to Ukraine During War – E!News

The E!News portal never published such a story, and the widely circulated news is fake, debunked by both the media and the celebrities who visited Ukraine.

Read MoreFake: USAID Funded Hollywood Celebrities’ Visits to Ukraine During War – E!News

Fake: Ukraine Admits that Foreign Mercenaries Left the Country for the War in Israel

This video has never been shown on Ukrainian television. To create a fake video, its authors used the real story of the American news program CBS Mornings and replaced its audio track.

Read MoreFake: Ukraine Admits that Foreign Mercenaries Left the Country for the War in Israel

Manipulation: Russia May Outpace Europe and USA in GDP Growth Says The New York…

The New York Times article does indeed contain a prediction that Russia may outpace European countries and the United States in terms of economic growth this year. However, this forecast does not belong to the NYT economic columnist Patricia Cohen, as the Russian media claim, but to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Also, Russian media cover only a part of the article - the part about the resilience of the Russian economy to Western sanctions. Instead, the main idea of the publication, which is to prove that the Russian economy is currently working to wage war in Ukraine, remains unaddressed by propagandists. Russian publications also ignore the problems in the consumer sector that Russians are currently facing.

Read MoreManipulation: Russia May Outpace Europe and USA in GDP Growth Says The New York…

Fake: In USA Ad Сalls Not to “Burn Money” to Support Israel, but to Help Ukraine – Video

Advertising campaign calling for "stand with Ukraine," which was allegedly initiated by the Ukrainian government, is fake. The corporation that installed the billboard shown in the video denied the existence of such an advertisement.

Read MoreFake: In USA Ad Сalls Not to “Burn Money” to Support Israel, but to Help Ukraine – Video

Manipulation: Fukuyama Claims Ukraine Won’t Be Able to Return All Its Territories

Francis Fukuyama did not make such statements in an interview with Radio Svoboda. This conclusion was made by the Russian media. In reality, the American philosopher noted that the only way for Russia to leave the occupied territories is Ukraine's victory. He also said that "the issue that Ukraine will face in the future is the possibility that not 100 percent can be liberated". Yet he specified that all discussions about territorial concessions during future negotiations are speculative, and only the Ukrainians themselves should answer these questions and make decisions.

Read MoreManipulation: Fukuyama Claims Ukraine Won’t Be Able to Return All Its Territories