On February 24, 2022, Russia began a full-scale invasion into Ukraine, triggering a war on the ground, but also an information war online. Since then, the FRANCE 24 Observers team has debunked 115 pieces of misinformation that have been shared in photos or videos online. But what are the main themes in these false narratives? And what techniques are used to misinform? Here's a look back at this year in fake news.
Images circulating on social media from a Ukrainian film production do not prove that Ukraine is staging the war, but neither do they prove "Russian illiteracy". We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
Since the Russian war in Ukraine began, misinformation has been spreading widely. And one of the narratives we've seen again and again is the idea that Ukraine has been "staging" atrocities to sway public opinion in Western media outlets. Here's a closer look at three videos we've seen and debunked.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, repeated false claims have appeared on social media alleging that the entire conflict is being staged. FRANCE 24's fact-checking team debunk the latest example: two videos that show a man in Ukrainian army uniform being filmed, as he appears to act out a scene on the battlefield.
Pro-Russian social media accounts have been widely circulating a video over the past few weeks that shows a man dressed as a Ukrainian soldier acting out a scene in front of a camera. These accounts have claimed this video is proof that people are staging scenes of the war in Ukraine. Turns out, however, the video was filmed during the shooting of a music video by a Ukrainian artist whose music represents the "pain of war".
Pro-Russian accounts claim that Ukrainian "propaganda" and mainstream Western media are showing fake victims, following a Russian missile strike in Kyiv on October 10. AP and Reuters reporters on the scene were able to confirm that the civilians in the viral posts are real victims of the war in Ukraine. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.
It's well known that foreign fighters have joined Ukrainian military units. However, claims are being made by Russian officials and media outlets of serving Nato troops on the ground in Ukraine. [...]
Russian media outlets haven't provided evidence of serving Nato personnel on the ground, only pointing to the presence of individual foreign fighters on the battlefield.
A Reuters photo of Ukrainians training for combat is being used as supposed evidence that the war there is fake. It's not.
A screenshot of a tweet by conservative activist Jack Posobiec is spreading on social media as evidence that the war in Ukraine is staged.
Trudy Rubin, a foreign affairs columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote from outside of Kyiv in February that civilian trainees were "practicing with cardboard guns or plastic paintball guns or hunting rifles from home until they are provided military weapons."
Even members of the U.S. military have used paintball guns for training exercises.
The war in Ukraine is real, and it has been well-documented by reporters and citizens on the ground in the country.
We rate claims that this photo proves it's being staged Pants on Fire.
Social media posts claim a photo shows cars damaged by a Russian bomb near a building with intact windows in Bucha, suggesting it proves violence in the Ukrainian town was staged. But there is no evidence of a strike near the building, and residents said military vehicles were used to upend the cars -- accounts confirmed by media reports and other images from the town.