Is there any truth to Russia’s ‘Ukrainian Nazis’ propaganda?
Russian propagandists are constantly saying Ukraine is full of Nazis, and posting alleged evidence online. DW's fact-checking team has investigated some of this supposed evidence.
Category Russia
Read MoreIs there any truth to Russia’s ‘Ukrainian Nazis’ propaganda?
How a video game has been used to create fake news about the Ukraine war – Truth or Fake
Since February, several Facebook and Twitter accounts versed in disinformation have been regularly sharing impressive videos purporting to show the war in Ukraine. But these viral images actually come from a video game called Arma 3. How can you spot these realistic spoofs that have even fooled international media? In this episode, the Truth or Fake team asks Pavel KÅižka, representative of Bohemia Interactive, the company that developed Arma 3.
This photo of Ukraine plunged into darkness is photoshopped
Has the entire Ukrainian territory been plunged into darkness due to Russian bombing? That's what some people on social networks have been saying since November 23, while sharing what appears to be an aerial photograph of Europe. While millions of Ukrainians have indeed lost power, this image has been manipulated using a photo that dates back to 2012.
No, Ukraine does not really look like this from space – Truth or Fake
A satellite photo of Europe being shared on social media appears to show a complete blackout in Ukraine. But the power outages, albeit extensive, are not total. The photo has been manipulated - we explain how in this edition of Truth or Fake.
No, Ukrainian fans were not responsible for Nazi graffiti at the World Cup
Numerous accounts on Twitter and Telegram have been sharing a video they say is a report by Al Jazeera showing Nazi graffiti left by Ukrainian football fans during the kickoff game of the World Cup in Qatar on November 20. The media outlet, however, says that they didn"t make this video. Moreover, a number of clues have allowed us to establish that this is a fake news report and that the Nazi graffiti was, in fact, photoshopped.
Photos of war makeup in Ukraine are from combat medic training in 2016
Four photos being shared on social media of a woman having war wound makeup applied to her face and body are from a medic training exercise in 2016.
At least one of the images was posted by an Instagram user whose profile describes her as a combat medic in Ukraine. The same woman appears in three of the photos.
A Twitter user with the same handle as the Instagram user tweeted Nov. 25 that "enemy propagandists" stole her photos from the 2016 training sessions to misrepresent them.
Allegations that images showing war devastation in Ukraine were staged have been shared on social media since Russia invaded the country in February.
We've debunked multiple claims about photos, including a false one that said a teacher injured on the first day of the war was a crisis actor.
Our ruling
An Instagram post claims that photos of war wound makeup being applied to a woman are fake combat photos, implying the violence in Ukraine isn't real.
But the photos can be traced to an Instagram user who described herself as a combat medic veteran. She shared at least one of the images on Instagram in 2016. A woman with the same handle on Twitter wrote that the photos were from training sessions and were being misrepresented by "enemy propagandists."
There is no evidence the photos were staged to show an injury from the current battle in Ukraine. We rate the claim False.
UPDATE, Dec. 1, 5:30 p.m. ET: The story was updated Dec. 1 to add the response from an Instagram user received after publication of this article.
Video claiming to be Al Jazeera report about ‘drunk Ukrainians’ at World Cup is fake
An Al Jazeera spokesperson told VERIFY in an email: "The video in question is completely fake and Al Jazeera never published this or any other material related to it."
Bogus Theory Misinterprets FTX Support for Ukraine
The bankruptcy of FTX, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has sparked an unfounded claim that its former CEO had conspired with Ukraine and Democratic politicians to launder U.S. aid money. FTX helped make crypto donations available to Ukraine; it wasn’t taking any assets from Ukraine.
Video game clip falsely shared as footage of Russian tanks struck by US-supplied missiles in Ukraine
A video viewed tens of thousands of times on social media has been falsely shared as showing Ukrainian troops attacking Russian tanks with US-made Javelin anti-tank missiles. While the missiles are among armaments sent by the United States and Western countries to Ukraine after Russia's invasion in February 2022, the clip in fact shows footage from the video game ARMA 3.
FACT CHECK: Russia Claims Not A ‘Single Piece Of Military Equipment’ Was Left Behind In Kherson Retreat | Check Your Fact
Verdict: False
Visual evidence shows the Russian military left equipment behind in the area. Experts and open-source intelligence (OSINT) accounts that track the conflict said the claim was false.