Category Disinformation

The Pentagon didn’t ‘admit’ that there are 46 US-funded biolabs in Ukraine

The United States government didn't admit that there are 46 U.S.-funded biolabs in Ukraine.

The document referenced by far-right and socialist websites repeats known information about 46 Ukrainian-owned and -operated laboratories, health facilities and diagnostic sites that have received support from the U.S.

The government fact sheet specifically states that Ukraine "has no nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons programs."

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A Gateway Pundit article said, "US Department of Defense Finally Comes Clean - Admits in Public Document that There Are 46 US Military-Funded Biolabs in Ukraine."

There was no "coming clean" ' and the government made no such admission.

The document referenced in the stories repeated known information about 46 Ukrainian-owned-and-operated laboratories, health facilities and diagnostic sites that have received support from the U.S. The document specifically states that Ukraine "has no nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons programs."

We rate this claim False.

Read MoreThe Pentagon didn’t ‘admit’ that there are 46 US-funded biolabs in Ukraine

Unproven claims of US-funded Ukraine bioweapons labs spread online

Online articles and social media posts claim US-funded labs in Ukraine are developing biological warfare weapons, saying this is part of the justification for the Russian attack on its eastern European neighbor. But former US officials and non-proliferation experts say the labs are working to detect and prevent the spread of bioweapons, and have also helped in containing disease outbreaks.

Read MoreUnproven claims of US-funded Ukraine bioweapons labs spread online

Fake: Ankara Considers Crimea Turkish and Wants to Take the Peninsula from Russia

Turkey has often stated that Ankara does not support Russia's annexation of Crimea, but rather supports Ukraine's territorial integrity. Turkey has absolutely no pretensions towards the Ukrainian peninsula and has often supported and helped the Crimean Tatars, whose rights Russia violates on a massive scale.

Read MoreFake: Ankara Considers Crimea Turkish and Wants to Take the Peninsula from Russia

Fake: Turkey Wants to Seize Part of Russia, Crimea and Donbas

Russian media continue to actively propagate disinformation about Ukrainian-Turkish relations and the relationship between Ankara and the Kremlin. On February 12 several pro-Kremlin publications announced that Turkey has unveiled a plan to seize parts of Russia. The publications claim that a Turkish state television channel showed a map with neighboring states marked up to indicate which territories Turkey would seize. Among the marked areas were Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine's Donbas region. [...]

There was absolutely no discussion about seizing neighboring territory in the Turkish television program Russian media refer to, in fact the discussion explored ways of expanding Turkey's political influence to neighboring countries. The map, which Russian media presented as "Ankara's secret plan" was in fact published in the Next 100 Years, a forecast for the 21st century, a 2009 book by George Friedman, an American geopolitical forecaster and international affairs strategist and the founder of the Stratfor research group. Friedman believes that by 2050 Turkey will become the strongest regional geopolitical player and will extend its spheres of influence both to the Arab world and to European countries - this is the forecast that is shown on the map (see video from 00:25:40). Friedman's forecast does not include any Turkish territorial expansion.

Read MoreFake: Turkey Wants to Seize Part of Russia, Crimea and Donbas

Russian has not been banned in Ukraine, despite repeated claims

Ukraine has not banned the use of the Russian language in the country.

A 2019 law established Ukrainian as the official language of Ukraine and strengthened its use in businesses, schools and the media.

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Lavrov referenced the banning and prohibition of Russian in Ukraine, particularly in "education, the media, everyday contacts," during a press conference.

Despite a language law that establishes Ukrainian as the country's official language and prioritizes its use in civil society, Russian has not been banned.

We rate Lavrov's statement False.

Read MoreRussian has not been banned in Ukraine, despite repeated claims

German daily Bild did not produce report about ‘Ukrainian refugees burning down a house’

A video has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times in social media posts that claim it is a report by German tabloid newspaper Bild about Ukrainian refugees who burned down a house while attempting to set fire to a Russian flag. However, the claims are false; AFP found the video had been fabricated using unrelated old clips to look like a real Bild production. A spokesperson for the newspaper confirmed the report was not genuine.

Read MoreGerman daily Bild did not produce report about ‘Ukrainian refugees burning down a house’

Video clip of military helicopter crash is from a video game, not the war in Ukraine

This isn't a real video showing the Ukrainian military shooting down Russian helicopters. It's a simulation from the Arma 3 video game.

Using keyword searches we found the same video on YouTube, which described the scene as a simulation from Arma 3, a military tactical shooter video game that's been used several times in false claims about the fighting in Ukraine.

The same Facebook account posted another video titled "Rus_sian Helicopter Convoy firing at U_kraine Military Base." It, too, is from the same game and doesn't depict real-life combat.

We rate these posts False.

UPDATE, June 7, 2022: We updated this fact-check to include another Facebook video misrepresenting video game footage.

Read MoreVideo clip of military helicopter crash is from a video game, not the war in Ukraine

Manipulation: Pentagon Studying Captured Russian Equipment in Hope of Getting ‘Advanced Technology’

Pentagon researchers have arrived in Ukraine to investigate Western technologies being used by the Russian military-industrial complex. American experts have found that nearly all advanced technology used in Russian weapons includes parts made in the United States and the European Union. Presently several countries are investigating how their production components got into Russian weapons systems and bypassed global restrictions on sending advanced technology to Russia.

Read MoreManipulation: Pentagon Studying Captured Russian Equipment in Hope of Getting ‘Advanced Technology’

Fake: Zelensky to Legalize “Polish Seizure of Ukraine”

According to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the law on the special status of Polish citizens in Ukraine will mirror the law adopted by the Polish parliament, the Sejm concerning assistance to Ukrainian citizens forced from their country by Russia's war. Under this law, citizens of Ukraine have the same rights as Polish citizens, except for the right to vote. This includes the right to legally reside in Poland, travel, work and open a business without a special work permit, access to education, the public health service and social assistance, including unemployment insurance.

Read MoreFake: Zelensky to Legalize “Polish Seizure of Ukraine”

Doctored image does not show KFC in Russia that ‘changed name to Siberian Fried Chicken’

After the parent company of fast-food giant KFC said it was suspending operations in Russia, social media posts shared hundreds of times purported to show a photo of a branch that "rebranded as Siberian Fried Chicken" in order to stay in business. However, the image is doctored. The original photo shows a KFC restaurant in western Russia, which has not changed its name, a spokesperson told AFP on May 26, 2022.

Read MoreDoctored image does not show KFC in Russia that ‘changed name to Siberian Fried Chicken’