Category Fact checks / debunkings

Is Ukraine Photo of Organ Harvesting Victims' 'Mass Grave'?

Is Ukraine Photo of Organ Harvesting Victims’ ‘Mass Grave’?

The photo in the tweet is not of an organ harvesting site in Kharkiv, but an exhumation in Lyman, Ukraine, from October 2022.

The photo depicts the uncovering of a mass grave in Lyman about a week after Ukrainian troops reclaimed the formerly Russian-occupied city. It has nothing to do with the material the tweet describes.

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Did Tokyo Billboard Show 'Stop War, Stop Zelensky'?

Did Tokyo Billboard Show ‘Stop War, Stop Zelensky’?

False. The video of the anti-Zelensky billboard in Shibuya, Japan, is fake. It was edited from a popular clip that's been on YouTube for more than two years and viewed more than eight million times. There is no evidence that any such billboard has been displayed in Shibuya, one of the busiest and most popular neighborhoods in Tokyo, Japan.

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No, this video doesn’t show Ukrainian soldiers ‘giving up without a fight’

Pro-Russian social media accounts have been widely sharing a video that they claim shows Ukrainian soldiers surrendering to the Russian army en masse. The video, however, actually shows a prisoner swap between the Russian state-funded paramilitary group, the Wagner Group, and the Ukrainian army in May 2023.

Read MoreNo, this video doesn’t show Ukrainian soldiers ‘giving up without a fight’

Fake: Charlie Hebdo Ridicules Ukrainian Fencer Olha Kharlan

Russia's propaganda machine periodically disseminates fake French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo magazine covers, to buttress the disinformation narrative the Kremlin in currently pushing. Whatever Russian media and its acolytes claim, there is no Charlie Hebo cover dedicated to Ukrainian Fencer Olha Kharlan.

Read MoreFake: Charlie Hebdo Ridicules Ukrainian Fencer Olha Kharlan

Is This an Authentic Ad in Japan Reading, ‘Stop Zelenskyy, Stop War’?

Claim: A video that went viral in July 2023 authentically depicted an ad in Japan that read "Stop Zelenskyy, Stop War."
Rating: Fake

Context: The video was posted in October 2020, before the Russian attack on Ukraine, and was digitally edited.

Read MoreIs This an Authentic Ad in Japan Reading, ‘Stop Zelenskyy, Stop War’?

Fake: President Nixon “Predicted an American war” in Ukraine

Pro-Kremlin media are actively spreading misinformation about the 37th US President Richard Nixon's alleged prediction of war in Ukraine. Referring to Nixon's declassified letter to the 42nd American President Bill Clinton, Russian media claim that Nixon predicted an "American" Revolution of Dignity and an "American" war in Ukraine.

Read MoreFake: President Nixon “Predicted an American war” in Ukraine

Video shows Ukraine prisoner swap, contrary to pro-Russia claims

Social media posts claim a video depicts Ukrainian soldiers surrendering to the Russian army. This is false; the clip shows a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Wagner mercenaries in late May 2023 near the city of Bakhmut.

Read MoreVideo shows Ukraine prisoner swap, contrary to pro-Russia claims

Fake Zakharova: Ukrainians Want to See Putin as Their President

Russian claims that Ukrainians would like a president like Vladimir Putin are false. After Russia's occupation and annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of hostilities in Donbas in 2014, Putin's standing among Ukrainians plummeted and reached a minimum after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Read MoreFake Zakharova: Ukrainians Want to See Putin as Their President

Fake: Ukraine Forcefully Drafts More Than 80% of Men

This is not true. The disinformation was spread because of an interview with the head of Lviv Regional Territorial Center for Drafting and Social Support. In it, he stated that about 20% of conscripts, who must be recruited according to the Centre's plan, come voluntarily. Total mobilization or forced drafting of 80% of men was never mentioned.

Read MoreFake: Ukraine Forcefully Drafts More Than 80% of Men
RFK Jr. Claims U.S. Pushed Ukraine to War With Russia

RFK Jr. Claims U.S. Pushed Ukraine to War With Russia

No evidence was provided to support the claim Johnson blocked a peace agreement, and the claim that Russia withdrew its forces from Kyiv due to an agreement with Zelensky is widely disputed by political and military experts.

Newsweek has put each of the claims it investigated to RFK Jr.'s spokespeople via email. There has been no response as of the time of publication.

Unless RFK Jr. can provide substantive proof to support some of his arguments, the claims the Democratic hopeful made on Fox News simply do not match the facts.

Read MoreRFK Jr. Claims U.S. Pushed Ukraine to War With Russia