Category Children

Manipulation: Electricity Rerouted from Schools and Kindergartens to Elite Resorts

Claims that electricity is redirected from schools and kindergartens to elite resorts is a manipulative distortion of reality. For two days in a row, several towns in the Khust district of the Transcarpathian region allegedly were not affected by the regional power outage schedules. According to the Transcarpathian Regional State Administration chairman, there are indeed recreation centers in these towns. However, it is extremely difficult to establish a causal relationship between these events, since recreation centers are located throughout all of Transcarpathia, and not only in the Khust region. It is impossible to selectively reroute electricity from schools and kindergartens to recreation centers.

January 30, 2023

Corruption Disinformation Children Russian propaganda Coordinated disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Narratives Outrageous luxuries Misconceptions Ukraine Russia Protected groups & minorities

Fabricated story falsely claims Vladimir Putin destroyed an adrenochrome lab in Ukraine

This story was fabricated. It appeared on Real Raw News, a site that regularly publishes false, fantastical stories authored by someone using a pseudonym.

Real Raw News stories are authored by someone using a pseudonym and the site has a disclaimer saying it contains "humor, parody and satire," though the author has defended his stories as truth.

We found no credible news reports or other sources to corroborate the claims in this post.

QAnon promotes a number of conspiracy theories that invoke pedophilia and a Democratic cabal. QAnon adherents were present during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. These ideas also infiltrated political discourse as recently as the 2022 midterm elections.

We rate this claim Pants on Fire!

January 25, 2023

Antisemitism Blood libel Children Russian propaganda Coordinated disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Putin Narrative: Oppression, "Genocide" vs Russian-speakers Narratives Misconceptions Satire taken seriously Child trafficking Organ farming Russia Protected groups & minorities Hatred and bigotry

Fake: Ukrainians Calling Russian Children in Gas Hoax

An audio recording is being circulated online as "evidence" of Ukrainian
"sabotage", however the recording first surfaced online at least in 2018
when it was widely circulated in Kazakhstan.

January 22, 2023

Disinformation Children Russian propaganda Coordinated disinformation Media taken out of context Attacks on civilians Fact checks / debunkings Methods Misconceptions Ukraine Russia War crimes Protected groups & minorities

Fake: Draft Notices Handed Out to Minors in Ukraine

The document being circulated online purported to be a Ukrainian draft notice is a fake. This document does not bear any similarity to an official Ukrainian draft notice, it contains the wrong category names and does not contain pertinent information that is part of a genuine draft notice. The term military commissariat is repeatedly used in the fake document. However, as of 2021 Ukrainian enlistment centers are called Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers. An analysis of the seal used in the document in question also shows that it was doctored and is not the seal of the Bila Tserkva Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center.

January 22, 2023

Disinformation Children Russian propaganda Coordinated disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Ukraine Russia War crimes Protected groups & minorities

Does this video really show children on the front lines of the war in Ukraine?

Is Ukraine sending children to fight on the front lines of the war? That's what some people on social media are claiming. As proof, they cite a video showing three very young-looking soldiers, which has been circulating online since November 8. It turns out, however, that we could identify two of the three people pictured in the footage and they are young adults - 23 and 25 years old. Furthermore, our team spoke to the NGO Amnesty International, which said that it had no knowledge of documented cases of child soldiers in the Ukrainian Army.

January 13, 2023

Children Russian propaganda Coordinated disinformation Fact checks / debunkings USA NGOs Misconceptions Ukraine Russia War crimes Protected groups & minorities International community

Debunking claims that Ukraine is using child soldiers – Truth or Fake

The latest pro-Russian narrative in the war in Ukraine is that the Ukrainian army is sending children and teenagers to the frontline. To illustrate this claim, users are posting a video on Twitter that shows three young soldiers, claiming they are children. Our team were able to identify two of the three soldiers in the video. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.

January 12, 2023

Disinformation Children Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Ukraine War crimes Protected groups & minorities

FACT CHECK: Were Thousands Of Children Rescued From A Biden-Owned Property In Ukraine? | Check Your Fact

Verdict: False
There is no evidence suggesting any children have been rescued from Bidenâs properties. There is also no evidence suggesting Biden himself owns any properties in Ukraine.

December 9, 2022

Corruption Children President Biden Coordinated disinformation Fact checks / debunkings USA Narratives Outrageous luxuries Misconceptions Child trafficking Ukraine Organ farming Protected groups & minorities International community

No, a Ukrainian publisher did not issue maps omitting Russian-occupied territories

In a video posted on Russian Telegram accounts, a man claims to have found a geography book for Ukrainian high school students in which the map of Ukraine has been cut in half, missing the areas occupied by Russian troops. But several clues in the video indicate that it is a fake, as confirmed to us by the book's publisher.

September 15, 2022

Disinformation Children Russian propaganda Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Ukraine Russia Protected groups & minorities

Fake: In 1943, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army Crucified Four Children

This photo has nothing to do with the Ukrainian national movement and with the events of the 1943 Volyn tragedy. The children in the photo were killed by their own mother Marianna Dolinska on the night of December 11-12, 1923, in the village of Antoniowka near the Polish city Radom.

August 23, 2022

Disinformation Children Media taken out of context Fact checks / debunkings Methods Misconceptions Poland Ukraine Protected groups & minorities International community

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.

June 3, 2022

Children Military aid Aid oversight Fact checks / debunkings USA Misconceptions Aid to Ukraine Protected groups & minorities International community