Fact checks: from across the internet
Ukraine Fact Check presents fact checks on Ukraine in two different ways. Our team works to:
1. index and tag existing fact-check articles from reputable sources from across the internet;
2. compile and publish original fact check articles, based our team’s own research into a subject.
Below, you can find the fact-check articles published by other websites across the internet.
Disclaimer: Ukraine Fact Check was not involved in producing the articles listed below. The information presented in them may be incorrect, incomplete, or misleading. As with any other type of article, read with a critical eye, check sources, and seek other opinions before making up your mind on important topics.
Edited video falsely shared with claim Ukraine’s Zelensky welcomed ‘robot warrior’
A video has been shared hundreds of times on social media alongside the false claim it shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcoming a “robot warrior” that arrived in the country in July 2023. The clip has in fact been digitally manipulated to add the robot and the original footage shows Zelensky with British leader Rishi Sunak at an army camp in south England.
Old photos resurface with false claim that they show British ships ‘bombed in Ukraine’
Two photos have been shared in social media posts alongside false claims that they show the aftermath of British cargo ships bombed by the Russian air force in a port in Odesa in southern Ukraine on July 16, 2023. However, the photos were in fact taken in Libya and Indonesia respectively and predate Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Old photos resurface with false claim that they show British ships ‘bombed in Ukraine’ | Fact Check
Two photos have been shared in social media posts alongside false claims that they show the aftermath of British cargo ships bombed by the Russian air force in a port in Odesa in southern Ukraine on July 16, 2023. However, the photos were in fact taken in Libya and Indonesia respectively and predate Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Posts falsely claim Ukraine cathedral destruction was staged
Social media posts claim footage of people easily removing debris from a Ukrainian cathedral after a Russian air strike proves the attack was faked. This is false; AFP and other news outlets covered the destruction, and the original video appears to show a woman carrying pieces of lightweight insulation.
Debunker: ‘NATO threatens Russia on its borders’
Uncover the truth behind Kremlin’s claims of NATO’s threat to Russia with Debunk.org’s analysis on NATO’s defensive stance and Russia’s disinformation narrative.
Tokyo video doctored to add anti-Zelensky billboard
A video circulating online appears to show a prominent digital billboard in Japan saying, “Stop war” and “Stop Zelenskyy.” But the clip has been doctored; the sign featured people — not the anti-Ukraine message — in otherwise matching footage posted to YouTube in 2020, prior to Russia’s invasion.
Are Wagner fighters disguised as migrants?
Claim: “The Wagnerians are entering Poland as migrants – claims Polsat News,” users posted on X (previously known as Twitter). They are referring to the Polish media outlet Polsat News as the alleged source of that information. “People are sure that illegal immigrants from Belarus are entering the country, who are in fact fighters of the PMC Wagner,” one of the users adds.
DW fact check: Unproven
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
No, this video does not prove that an attack on Odesa was staged by Ukraine
A video has gone viral on social media, with users claiming it shows proof that the destruction of a historic cathedral in Odesa on the night of July 22 to 23 was staged by Ukrainian authorities. They argue that a woman in the video picks up the debris with too much ease for it to be real. However, the woman is actually picking up a light material, most likely polystyrene, so this does not prove that the attack was staged.
Old video of explosion at Ukrainian dam falsely linked to latest blast in June 2023
A video appearing to show an explosion has circulated widely in social media posts that misleadingly claim it captured the moment the Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine was destroyed in June 2023. The footage was in fact taken in 2022 when another explosion occurred at the dam during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Does Video Show ‘Mass Surrender’ of Ukrainian Troops?
While footage and claims from Wagner should be treated cautiously, it stands to reason that had the video depicted a mass surrender, then Prigozhin or his representatives would have heralded that fact and not a prisoner exchange.
In short, based on footage from the Wagner Group and other news sources, Newsweek can confirm the aerial footage is not of a Ukrainian mass surrender.