Category Misconceptions

FACT CHECK: Does This Image Show Ukrainian Soldiers Mistakenly Burning A Dutch Flag? | Check Your Fact

Verdict: Misleading
The image is from a 2016 video that allegedly shows soldiers from the Ukrainian Azov Regiment threatening Dutch citizens over a referendum. The Azov Regiment denied the video was created by them.

Read MoreFACT CHECK: Does This Image Show Ukrainian Soldiers Mistakenly Burning A Dutch Flag? | Check Your Fact

Video game clip shared as genuine footage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Footage that appears to show helicopters obliterated by missiles has racked up tens of thousands of views in social media posts that claim it shows combat between Russian and Ukrainian forces. While some social media users appeared to believe the clip was genuine, it was taken from war video game series Arma.

Read MoreVideo game clip shared as genuine footage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

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”

Claim suggests billions should go to SWAT in schools. But there’s more to consider

The U.S. has spent $53 billion on aid to Ukraine as part of a bipartisan effort to oppose Russia's invasion of the fledgling democracy.

More than $3 billion goes toward U.S. schools safety equipment and personnel every year, according to market research analysis and federal figures.

Researchers largely agree that armed officers at K-12 schools do not prevent mass shootings or other gun-related incidents from happening.

Instead, experts recommend threat assessment programs to help school staff identify behavioral warning signs among students and intervene to provide support before violent incidents occur.

Our ruling
A Facebook post claimed that with the $53 billion spent in Ukraine aid, the U.S. "could pay five SWAT members $80,000 each and have them at EVERY school front door."

The U.S. has allocated about $53 billion in aid to Ukraine. And if one wanted to pay this amount to station five SWAT members at every public and private K-12 school in the country, it would also add up to about $53 billion over one year.

But that statement alone lacks context about current security funding for schools and what research shows about the effect of such measures.

More than $2.7 billion is already spent each year on school safety equipment and services nationwide. And this $53 billion, if spent as the claim suggested, would cover just one year of SWAT team coverage for schools.

Additionally, research shows that the presence of armed officers on campuses does not help prevent school shootings from happening.

We rate this claim Half True.

Read MoreClaim suggests billions should go to SWAT in schools. But there’s more to consider

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’

Photo of Putin wearing crinkled suit has circulated online since 2017

An image of Russian President Vladimir Putin has been shared thousands of times online alongside a claim he "has started to wear a bulletproof vest" after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Part of Putin's wrinkled suit jacket was circled in the posts as evidence for the claim. The photo has been shared in a false context: it has circulated in reports since mid-2017, almost five years before Russian troops invaded Ukraine.

Read MorePhoto of Putin wearing crinkled suit has circulated online since 2017

Video shows tanks heading for military exercise in western Finland, not to Russian border

The statement says that "tracked vehicles will be transported by train" to Niinisalo and Kankaanpaa in western Finland between April 26 and May 2, 2022. The Finnish Defence Forces published details of previous Arrow exercises in Niinisalo in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Read MoreVideo shows tanks heading for military exercise in western Finland, not to Russian border