WHAT WAS CLAIMED: E! News published a video stating celebrities received funds from USAID to visit Ukraine.
OUR VERDICT: False. The video is fake and there's no evidence USAID funded the visits.
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.
Elon Musk, Donald Trump Jr and other prominent conservatives are sharing a video that claims to show E! News reporting that the US's humanitarian agency paid millions of dollars to celebrities including Angelina Jolie and Ben Stiller to visit Ukraine and help boost President Volodymyr Zelensky's popularity amid the country's war with Russia. But the clip is not an authentic report, a spokesperson for the entertainment news channel told AFP, and Stiller has publicly rejected the allegations as false.
Much of the money the U.S. has dedicated for Ukraine aid is spent in the U.S. on domestic weapons manufacturers and U.S. military and government operations.
Direct military support to Ukraine totaled about $70 billion out of the $175 billion Congress has appropriated.
The money isn't being laundered, it's being spent as Congress intended.
This is not a genuine cover of The Economist. It has not been shared on the publication's archive of past editions, or elsewhere on its website. The Economist edition for 24 February 2024 did feature a different illustration of President Putin and Mr Trump with the title 'Is Europe ready?'
This is not a genuine cover of The Economist. It has not been shared on the publication's archive of past editions, or elsewhere on its website. The Economist edition for 24 February 2024 did feature a different illustration of President Putin and Mr Trump with the title 'Is Europe ready?'
A spokesperson for the organisation told Full Fact: "This is a bogus claim. Secretary General Rutte has never said this."
They also pointed us towards the Secretary General's most recent remarks made to the media about President-elect Trump, congratulating him on his election victory and praising him for getting NATO countries to spend more on defence during his first presidency beyond two percent of the GDP target.
This quote is not real, however. There is no proof that Rutte has ever said or implied that he would expel the U.S. from NATO, and Rutte congratulated the incoming President on his victory in a post on X just two days after Election Day.
NATO spokesperson Daniele Riggio told PolitiFact the claim is "bogus."
"Secretary General Rutte has never said this," Riggio said. This post was flagged as part of Meta's efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed.
Rubio has commented on the need for a pragmatic approach to end the Ukraine conflict, but he hasn't suggested allowing Russia to control Ukrainian territory as a solution. During a recent interview on NBC's Meet the Press and on the Today Show, Rubio said the war appears to be in a "stalemate" and argued for a negotiated settlement as a realistic path to peace. He highlighted the bravery of Ukrainians but expressed concern about the U.S. funding a prolonged conflict, suggesting that a practical end to the hostilities should be prioritized to prevent further destruction and economic strain on Ukraine.