A viral photo of a helicopter airlifting a tractor predates Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. An Indian tractor manufacturer posted it on Twitter in November 2020.
The helicopter in the photo is labeled "Indian Air Force." India is not a member of NATO.
Since its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has restricted dissenting voices, independent news reporting and public discourse on social media platforms.
A new law in Russia threatens up to 15 years of prison time for spreading information about the war that authorities consider to be "false."
There are no parallels in the U.S., where freedom of speech, expression and the press are safeguarded by the Constitution. Gabbard alleged censorship by social media companies, but experts say those claims are not supported by evidence.
Our ruling
Gabbard said, "What is happening here is not so different from what we're seeing happening in Russia, where you have got state TV and controlled messaging across the board."
Since its invasion of Ukraine, Russia ' a country with a long history of suppressing free speech and access to information ' has restricted dissenting voices, independent news reporting and public discourse on social media platforms, including with a new law threatening prison time for spreading "false" information about the war. Those measures are without parallel in the U.S., where freedom of speech, expression and the press are enshrined in the Constitution.
We rate Gabbard's claim Pants on Fire!
Social media posts claim that the avenue outside the Russian consulate in Montreal was renamed for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a show of support for the country after it was invaded by Russia. This is false; the Avenue Zelensky sign pictured in the posts was installed during the filming of a satirical television program, and the city told AFP that the name of the street remains unchanged.
Social media posts claim Russia's ambassador to the United Nations said during a General Assembly session that former US president Donald Trump was "overthrown." But diplomat Vassily Nebenzia's full remarks make clear he was referring to the revolution that toppled Ukraine's president in February 2014, not Trump's 2020 electoral defeat.
Conspiracy theorists and Russian apologists reached new lows in attacking the Ukrainian president in March 2022.
A West Virginia State Police captain confirmed that the Uber's window decal was an expired inspection sticker from the state. But that doesn't mean that the car itself wasn't in Ukraine.
The video showing the car was recorded in Irpin, Ukraine, according to Reuters, which owns the video.
It's not uncommon for cars to be exported from the U.S. to other countries, including Ukraine.
Our ruling
A Facebook post claimed that "a West Virginia inspection sticker on an Uber" proves the car was not in Ukraine.
A West Virginia State Police Captain confirmed that the decal on the car was an expired sticker from the state. However, this doesn't mean that the car wasn't in Ukraine ' a spokesperson for Reuters, which owns the video, confirmed that the video was filmed there.
It's not uncommon for cars to be exported from the U.S. to other countries, including Ukraine.
We rate this claim False.
Verdict: False
The video shows footage from an open-world military simulator video game. It does not depict an actual Russian helicopter being shot down.
Online posts claim the Statue of Liberty in New York City was adorned with a Ukrainian flag as a sign of solidarity following the Russian invasion. But a reverse image search found that the photo shows a replica Statue of Liberty located in Colmar, France, that was also photographed on March 2, 2022 by AFP.
Social media posts feature a picture of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holding a soccer jersey that has a swastika in place of a number. But AFP found that the posts used a digitally manipulated image superimposing the Nazi symbol on a photo taken from the leader's Instagram account.
An image comparing what appears to be an Italian television network's coverage of the war in Ukraine to a shot from a movie has spread online in posts claiming the media is lying about Russia's invasion. But the network's parent company rejected the claim, a word is missing from the TGCOM24 logo used in the posts, and AFP found no evidence of the footage being broadcast on the channel.