Category Media taken out of context

Old port fire video falsely shared as ‘Israeli attack on Iran’s military aid to Russia’

An old video of a smoking field of debris has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times in Chinese-language social media posts that falsely claim it shows Iranian military aid for Russia blown up by Israel in March 2023. But there is no evidence the event described in the posts actually occurred. The video was in fact shared by an Afghan official in the aftermath of a massive port fire in the country in February 2021.

May 3, 2023

Aid to Ukraine Fact checks / debunkings International community Iran Israel Media taken out of context Methods Military aid Misconceptions Russia

Fake: Ukrainian General Admits that Country’s Professional Army “Has Already Been Knocked Out”

General Melnyk, who is quoted by Russian media, did not make any statements about the "destruction of the combat-ready part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces". Melnyk spoke about the need to replenish the resources of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with Western equipment and new trained personnel for the rotation of Ukrainian soldiers on the front line.

April 28, 2023

Aid to Ukraine Coordinated disinformation Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Russia Russian propaganda Ukraine

Fake: Surrender of Bakhmut Will Collapse The Front to Western Borders of Ukraine

Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Oleksiy Danilov did not say that surrendering Bakhmut will lead to the collapse of the front to the western borders of Ukraine.

April 26, 2023

Coordinated disinformation Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Russia Russian propaganda Ukraine

Fake: Kyiv Announces Attacks on Russian Nuclear Power Plants

In an interview with the Ukrainian Channel Five television network, former Ukrainian Special Forces Deputy commander Serhiy Kryvonos said that Ukrainians knew how to penetrate into and seize a nuclear power plant in peacetime and therefore, hypothetically, are capable of trying to seize a Russian nuclear plant in response to Russia's occupation of the Zaporizhzhia atomic plant. Kryvonos was not speaking in any official capacity, he was speaking hypothetically, and his words do not convey any real intent on the part of Ukraine to seize or attack Russian nuclear power stations.

April 26, 2023

Coordinated disinformation Disinformation Escalation / WWIII Fact checks / debunkings Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Narratives Russia Russian propaganda Ukraine

Manipulation: Ukraine To Ban Conscripts From Enrolling to Universities

Statements about Ukraine allegedly planning to ban conscripts from enrolling to universities are completely baseless. Currently, there are no such draft laws in Ukraine, and no initiatives of this kind have been proposed by the authorities. In comments for Focus and TSN, lawyers confirmed that such a decision is extremely unlikely as it can be recognized as unconstitutional.

April 21, 2023

Coordinated disinformation Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Russia Russian propaganda Ukraine

Fake: Ukrainian Counteroffensive Will Suffer a Crushing Defeat

The Kremlin media completely distorted a recent Financial Times article, claiming British experts were predicting a crushing defeat for the planned Ukrainian counteroffensive. The FT did discuss the counteroffensive, but mostly in the context of what difficulties the Ukrainian military will face. The article's conclusion is that if the Ukrainian attack is fast and brutal, then the front line will spread and the Russians will flee, just as they did during the counteroffensive near Kharkiv last year.

April 19, 2023

Coordinated disinformation Counteroffensive 2023 Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings International community Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Russia Russian propaganda UK Ukraine

Fake: Ukrainian Military Torture Animals, Use Them As Sappers

Ukrainian soldiers do not use animals to clear mines. On the contrary, servicemen on the front lines are trying to remove abandoned farm animals from areas shelled by Russians.

April 19, 2023

Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Russia Russian propaganda Ukraine

Fake: Ukraine Stages Aspirational Videos to Raise Morale Among the Military

A video circulating online shows the filming of the short feature film 'Hope'. The behind-the-scenes videos were taken from the TikTok account of the director Artem Kocharyan, who currently lives in Latvia. The film is based on the real story of his Ukraine acquaintance - a pregnant girl who lost her family due to the Russian aggression.

April 9, 2023

Coordinated disinformation Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Narratives Russia Russian propaganda The war is a hoax Ukraine

Fake: “Radicals” burn down Moscow Patriarchate Orthodox Church in Mykolaiv province

Russian media are circulating a video purporting to show the torching of an
Orthodox Church belonging to the Moscow Patriarchate in the Mykolaiv region
by Ukrainian "radicals". The video was actually taken in Russia ten years
ago, in 2013.

April 8, 2023

Attacks on religion Coordinated disinformation Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Religion Russia Russian propaganda Ukraine War crimes

Is This Real Footage of Ukrainians Burning Russian-Affiliated Orthodox Church?

Miscaptioned.

Context: The video being shared was posted on YouTube around 10 years ago and is reportedly of a church being burned in Russia.

April 7, 2023

"Genocide" vs Russian-speakers Cultural genocide Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Narratives Russia Russian propaganda Ukraine War crimes