Fact check: Photos and videos from Ukraine show Russian invasion
Contrary to a popular narrative on social media, news outlets have verified scores of videos from the conflict in Ukraine.
Category Misconceptions
Read MoreFact check: Photos and videos from Ukraine show Russian invasion
These images were taken in Melilla, and do not show African migrants fleeing Ukraine
Facebook posts published in Ethiopia and Nigeria have claimed that Africans trying to flee the war in Ukraine have been mistreated and racially discriminated against based on images showing black men with visible injuries being held in captivity. There have been widespread reports about the mistreatment of Africans trying to leave the country, but these images were taken at a refugee camp in Melilla, a Spanish enclave on the north coast of Morocco - not in Ukraine.
Doctored Italian TV screenshot shared to discredit Ukraine war coverage
An image comparing what appears to be an Italian television network's coverage of the war in Ukraine to a shot from a movie has spread online in posts claiming the media is lying about Russia's invasion. But the network's parent company rejected the claim, a word is missing from the TGCOM24 logo used in the posts, and AFP found no evidence of the footage being broadcast on the channel.
Altered photo shows Ukrainian president holding jersey with swastika
Social media posts feature a picture of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holding a soccer jersey that has a swastika in place of a number. But AFP found that the posts used a digitally manipulated image superimposing the Nazi symbol on a photo taken from the leader's Instagram account.
Photo shows Ukrainian flag on French Statue of Liberty replica
Online posts claim the Statue of Liberty in New York City was adorned with a Ukrainian flag as a sign of solidarity following the Russian invasion. But a reverse image search found that the photo shows a replica Statue of Liberty located in Colmar, France, that was also photographed on March 2, 2022 by AFP.
FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show A Russian KA-52 Helicopter Being Shot Down? | Check Your Fact
Verdict: False
The video shows footage from an open-world military simulator video game. It does not depict an actual Russian helicopter being shot down.
News video of shot up car was filmed in Ukraine, not West Virginia
A West Virginia State Police captain confirmed that the Uber's window decal was an expired inspection sticker from the state. But that doesn't mean that the car itself wasn't in Ukraine.
The video showing the car was recorded in Irpin, Ukraine, according to Reuters, which owns the video.
It's not uncommon for cars to be exported from the U.S. to other countries, including Ukraine.
Our ruling
A Facebook post claimed that "a West Virginia inspection sticker on an Uber" proves the car was not in Ukraine.
A West Virginia State Police Captain confirmed that the decal on the car was an expired sticker from the state. However, this doesn't mean that the car wasn't in Ukraine ' a spokesperson for Reuters, which owns the video, confirmed that the video was filmed there.
It's not uncommon for cars to be exported from the U.S. to other countries, including Ukraine.
We rate this claim False.
News and other programs are broadcast live on Russian television, despite claims otherwise
An employee at state-owned Channel One in Russia recently interrupted a live news broadcast to protest the war in Ukraine.
Multiple experts say there are live news broadcasts and other live events on Russian TV.
A former employee of the station said that all Channel One news is live. An expert we spoke with said that's because of the country's many time zones.
Our ruling
A Facebook post said that a Russian journalist's protest during a state TV broadcast couldn't be real because "there are no live on air television broadcasts in Russia. None. Ever."
But experts we spoke with, including journalists who have worked in Russia, said that is not true. There are many live broadcasts, including the news show that was interrupted by an employee's protest. There has been no evidence presented that shows her actions were staged as part of a Russian propaganda effort.
We rate this claim False.
Photo shows aftermath of 2018 fire in Turkey, not ‘elderly man in Ukraine’
A photo of an elderly man clutching a cat has been shared in social media posts around the world that claim he was seeking shelter from Russian shelling in Ukraine. While millions of people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion, the photo actually shows a man with his cat at the scene of a fire in Turkey in 2018.
Video shows Putin’s dog barking at Japanese journalists in 2016, not 2022
A video has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times in Facebook posts that claim it shows Russian President Vladimir Putin trying to embarrass a "Japanese delegation" by bringing his dog to an official meeting. The posts -- which circulated online after Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- refer to Japan's alignment with the United States and other countries, which have imposed sanctions on Moscow. But the video has been shared in a false context. It shows Putin bringing his dog to an interview with Japanese journalists at the Kremlin in 2016.