Category Ukraine

Photo shows former attorney general of Crimea, not current prosecutor general of Ukraine

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a photo was shared repeatedly in Facebook posts that claim it shows Ukraine's female prosecutor general, who they say has "caught the public's attention" because of her "stunning" looks. In fact, the photo shows the former attorney general of Crimea, Natalya Poklonskaya, who was appointed by Russia after it annexed the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014. Ukraine's current chief prosecutor is Iryna Venediktova.

March 8, 2022

Media taken out of context Fact checks / debunkings Methods Misconceptions Ukraine Russia

No, this former Ukrainian beauty queen has not joined the Ukrainian military to fight Russians

The viral photograph shows Anastasiia Lenna, the 2015 Miss Grand Ukraine winner, posing with an airsoft gun. She confirmed that she did not join the Ukrainian military and said she posted the staged image to inspire people.

Our ruling
A Facebook post claims it shows a Ukrainian beauty queen fighting against the Russians invading Ukraine.

That's not the case. Lenna did not join the Ukrainian military. She posted a photo in which she's posing with an airsoft gun. She said the photo was meant to inspire people.

We rate this post False.

March 7, 2022

Ukrainian culture Media taken out of context Fact checks / debunkings Methods Misconceptions Ukraine

This photo of Zelensky meeting troops was taken before Russia invaded Ukraine

A photo of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is circulating in Facebook posts that claim it shows him sharing a meal with soldiers resisting Russia's invasion. The posts are misleading; the photo was taken when Zelensky visited eastern Ukraine on February 17, 2022, days before Russia launched a military operation in the country.

March 7, 2022

Media taken out of context Fact checks / debunkings Methods Misconceptions Ukraine Russia

Inaccurate posts claim NATO countries giving warplanes to Ukraine

Social media posts claim that three NATO countries will give 70 warplanes to Ukraine to aid the fight against invading Russian forces. This is misleading; while Kyiv said Poland, Bulgaria and Slovakia would provide the aircraft, officials from all three countries denied that they would do so.

March 7, 2022

Disinformation Russian propaganda NATO Escalation / WWIII Coordinated disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Narratives Misconceptions Poland Ukraine Russia International community

FACT CHECK: Does This Image Show Clouds In The Shape Of An Angel Over Kyiv? | Check Your Fact

Verdict: False
The image dates back to at least 2016. There is no evidence it was taken in Ukraine.

March 5, 2022

Religion Media taken out of context Fact checks / debunkings Methods Misconceptions Ukraine

Fact check: Russia falsely blames Ukraine for starting war

“Maria Zakharova's claim that Ukraine started this war is false. The Russian Federation illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, sparking broad international condemnation. On February 21, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine from the north, northeast, and from the Crimean Peninsula in the south, initiating a full-scale interstate war between Russia and Ukraine”.

March 4, 2022

Disinformation Russian propaganda Fact checks / debunkings Genocide Misconceptions Context Ukraine Russia

Evidence of Russia’s war in Ukraine is plentiful and proves it is not ‘staged’

News reports, testimonies of citizens-turned-fighters, and a swift global response all fly in the face of baseless claims that Russia's war on Ukraine is "staged."

"There is little to refute directly, other than to note that thousands or millions of people would have to be in on any conspiracy to fake a war, and like the 9/11 attacks (which some people also deny) there is substantial video footage of attacks on Ukrainian cities, Russian invading forces, and throngs of refugees," Radnitz said.

Nevertheless, he added, "a true believer will persist in denying all that evidence, something that is easier to do when the conflict is geographically distant and they do not personally know anyone directly affected by it."

With a war raging, the world responding and both sides of the conflict experiencing its effects, the claim that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is "scripted and staged" holds no merit. We rate it Pants on Fire!

March 4, 2022

Disinformation Russian propaganda Attacks on civilians Fact checks / debunkings Narratives Misconceptions Ukraine Russia The war is a hoax War crimes

No, this woman driving an armored vehicle isn’t Ukrainian. She’s Russian and the clip is from 2021

The clip does not show a Ukrainian woman teaching people how to drive an abandoned Russian armored carrier amid the war.

The TikToker is a Russian auto-blogger named Nastya Tuman and the video is from February 2021.

The Facebook video is a compilation of several clips she shared on her TikTok page on Feb. 16, 2021.

Tuman speaks Russian throughout the videos and excitedly describes the vehicle, saying it has 8-wheel drive, a seating shooter and a hatch for the driver-mechanic. She also discusses how to start it, instructing viewers on how to turn it on and shift into gear.

The clip was made by a Russian woman and is from February 2021. It is unrelated to the current conflict in Ukraine. We rate posts claiming otherwise False.

March 4, 2022

Media taken out of context Fact checks / debunkings Methods Misconceptions Ukraine Russia

This video is from a climate change protest in Austria. It doesn’t show crisis actors in Ukraine

The people under the tarps aren't crisis actors from Ukraine trying to fool people into thinking they are dead. They were part of a protest against climate change that was held in Vienna, Austria, on Feb. 4.

The clip is from a Feb. 4 demonstration against climate change in Vienna. The reporter, Marvin Bergauer, is from an Austrian news channel called OE24 TV and is speaking German in the video. An English translation of the chyron on the video says "Vienna: Demo against climate policy."

The people under the tarps aren't crisis actors ' from Germany, Ukraine or anywhere else ' trying to fool people into thinking that they are dead. They're protesters from Austria in a video taken before the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.

We rate this False.

March 4, 2022

Disinformation Media taken out of context Fact checks / debunkings Methods Narratives Misconceptions Ukraine The war is a hoax

This is fictional footage from a 2016 drill, not a recent BBC report on the Ukraine-Russia crisis

Footage of what looks like a news report has been circulating on Facebook in Nigeria claiming to show a BBC reporter broadcasting on the ongoing Ukraine-Russia crisis and warning of an impending nuclear war. But this is false; the video has been online since at least 2016. Furthermore, the BBC confirmed the footage is fictional.

March 4, 2022

Escalation / WWIII Coordinated disinformation Media taken out of context Fact checks / debunkings Faked news reports Methods Narratives Misconceptions Ukraine Russia