Category Narratives

No proof that Ukraine President Zelenskyy owns a $35 million home in Florida I

There is no proof that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy owns a $35 million home in Florida.
The claim originated from a source that appears to be backed by the Russian government.
The Pandora Papers leak did show Zelenskyy owned several offshore companies and other assets, but nothing that could corroborate the claim made on social media.

Our ruling
A now-deleted Facebook post shared the claim that Ukraine President Zelenskyy owned a $35 million home in Florida among several other assets.

The claim appears to have originated from a Russian-backed source, and no other corroborating evidence for the claim could be found.

While leaked financial documents showed Zelenskyy owned several offshore companies and other assets like cars and property, they made no mention of a Florida home.

We rate this claim False.

Read MoreNo proof that Ukraine President Zelenskyy owns a $35 million home in Florida I

Video of mannequin shows TV drama, not Ukraine ‘faking dead bodies’ in Bucha

Footage of two men handling a mannequin is circulating in social media posts that claim it shows a "prop" passed off as a dead body in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, where dozens of corpses were discovered in April after Russian forces retreated. In fact, the video -- viewed hundreds of thousands of times -- was not filmed in Bucha. It was recorded for a Russian TV drama in Vsevolozhsk near Saint Petersburg on March 20, 2022.

Read MoreVideo of mannequin shows TV drama, not Ukraine ‘faking dead bodies’ in Bucha

Operation May 9. How Soviet Fakes and Propaganda Became the Source of a New…

May 9 - Victory Day - "the Soviet people's victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" was never simply a commemorative holiday, it has always been an important ideological instrument. From its inception, this holiday has been a deep and profound manifestation of state propaganda. However, the kind of metamorphosis regarding World War II that has taken place in today's Russia, could not have been foreseen even by Stalin.

Read MoreOperation May 9. How Soviet Fakes and Propaganda Became the Source of a New…

No, this photo of intact windows in Bucha doesn’t prove the war in Ukraine is a hoax

The destruction in Bucha due to Russia invading Ukraine has been well-documented through news reports and photos. An image of overturned cars next to a building with intact windows doesn't disprove that.

Photographer Emanuele Satolli, who took photos at the same scene pictured in the Instagram post, told the Greek fact-checking outlet Ellinika Hoaxes that he "met several citizens and everyone told me that the cars had been overturned by Russian tanks."

Plenty of other photos Abd shot in Bucha show shattered windows, rubble from devastated buildings, streets in ruins, and human corpses ' all the real toll of a real war.

Claims that the war in Ukraine is fake are inaccurate and ridiculous. That's our definition of Pants on Fire.

Read MoreNo, this photo of intact windows in Bucha doesn’t prove the war in Ukraine is a hoax

Three claims accuse Volodymyr Zelensky of being addicted to cocaine

In recent weeks, people have been sharing at least three videos purporting to show Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky either using cocaine or making incoherent remarks after allegedly consuming drugs. But these videos have been cut misleadingly and sometimes even digitally manipulated.

Read MoreThree claims accuse Volodymyr Zelensky of being addicted to cocaine

Viral videos falsely claiming Ukraine’s Zelenskyy uses cocaine are altered

Two viral videos purported to show that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy uses cocaine. One video appeared to show cocaine on Zelenskyy's desk as he spoke, while the other appeared to show him saying that he uses the drug routinely.

The first video was doctored; in the original, there is no white substance on Zelenskyy's desk. The second video was deceptively edited; in the original, he denied using drugs.

Our ruling
Two videos claimed to show Zelenskyy either using or admitting to using cocaine.

The first video purports to show a white powder on Zelenskyy's desk as he placed a video call to Musk. But the video was doctored to include the substance, which is not in the original.

The second video appears to show Zelenskyy talking about using cocaine regularly, but the video was deceptively edited to reorder Zelenskyy's words. In reality, Zelenskyy denied using drugs.

We rate these videos Pants on Fire!

Read MoreViral videos falsely claiming Ukraine’s Zelenskyy uses cocaine are altered

No, Putin didn’t free 35,000 children from Ukraine

This unfounded claim originated on a website known for publishing misinformation.

Putin has freed 35,000 children in Ukraine, a country he's invaded, or anywhere else. There are no credible sources nor news reports to support this.

Searching for evidence that Putin saved thousands of children, we only found articles reporting that Russian police jailed several children for leaving flowers at Ukraine's embassy in Moscow.

We rate this post Pants on Fire!

Read MoreNo, Putin didn’t free 35,000 children from Ukraine

No, Ukraine isn’t the money laundering or child sex trafficking capital of the world

Other countries have worse money laundering and human trafficking problems than Ukraine, according to experts and government reports.

Now amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a post claiming Ukraine is the "money laundering and child sex trafficking capital of the world!"

According to the State Department's latest Trafficking in Persons report, Russia has a more serious problem with child sex trafficking than Ukraine. Both countries struggle with the issue, the report said, but Ukraine took action to address it between 2020 and 2021, while Russia failed to make "significant efforts" to eliminate the problem.

While Ukraine convicted traffickers, increased financial assistance to victims, and launched awareness campaigns, Russia "convicted only one trafficker," failed to "initiate any new prosecutions of suspected traffickers," and "offered no funding or programs to provide services for trafficking victims."

Russia, not Ukraine, is among 11 governments the report says have "a documented 'policy or pattern' of human trafficking, trafficking in government-funded programs, forced labor in government-affiliated medical services or other sectors, sexual slavery in government camps, or employment or recruitment of child soldiers.

The report also ranks countries based on the extent of government efforts to meet minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking. Tier 1, the United States' ranking, is the highest, but it doesn't mean the country has no human trafficking problems. Rather, it means the country fully meets minimum standards to eliminate trafficking. Tier 2 ' Ukraine's tier ' means a country's government doesn't fully meet the minimum standards but is making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance. Tier 3 includes countries such as Afghanistan and Russia that don't meet the minimum standards and aren't trying to.

We rate this post False.

Read MoreNo, Ukraine isn’t the money laundering or child sex trafficking capital of the world