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.
Fake: Ukrainian Forces Unable to Counter Russian Missiles
Aviation expert Valery Romanenko did not make such claims during an interview with the NTA TV channel. On the contrary, both Ukraine and foreigners emphasize the effectiveness of Ukrainian air defense increasing significantly since the full-scale war with Russia began (up to 80%).
Old port fire video falsely shared as ‘Israeli attack on Iran’s military aid to Russia’
An old video of a smoking field of debris has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times in Chinese-language social media posts that falsely claim it shows Iranian military aid for Russia blown up by Israel in March 2023. But there is no evidence the event described in the posts actually occurred. The video was in fact shared by an Afghan official in the aftermath of a massive port fire in the country in February 2021.
Forged poster shared to claim ‘homeless people recruited in US to fight in Ukraine’
Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, an international legion backing the Kyiv government started an advertising campaign to drum up overseas support and recruit fighters from abroad. However, a fabricated poster shared thousands of times online, allegedly targeting people on welfare in the United States, is not related to this campaign. Ukrainian authorities say the image — which AFP found has several inconsistencies in its formatting — is a forgery.
Fake News: NBU Governor Bought a Rolls-Royce
The car in question most likely belongs to a Ukrainian businessman and deputy of the Vinnytsia Oblast Council. What also indirectly points to this conclusion is the car’s registration in the city of Mohyliv-Podilskyi, Vinnytsia oblast. The purchase of the Rolls-Royce GHOST with the vehicle registration plate ÐÐ0001ÐÐ took place on 8 February 2022, meaning it occurred before Andriy Pyshnyy was appointed NBU Governor (and took office in October 2022) and before Russia launched its full-scale war against Ukraine.
Fake CNN tweet on Zelensky, immigration spreads online
An image circulating online purports to show a CNN tweet quoting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saying he plans to change his war-torn nation’s demographics through mass immigration. But the supposed screenshot is fabricated; the global news network published no such post, a spokesperson confirmed to AFP.
Is Image of ‘Scared’ Putin Connected to Russia’s Ukraine War?
Misleading Material. While the image in the tweet is a photo of Putin, it has nothing to do with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It was taken during a submarine dive off an island in the Gulf of Finland in 2019.
Fake: Ukrainian General Admits that Country’s Professional Army “Has Already Been Knocked Out”
General Melnyk, who is quoted by Russian media, did not make any statements about the “destruction of the combat-ready part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces”. Melnyk spoke about the need to replenish the resources of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with Western equipment and new trained personnel for the rotation of Ukrainian soldiers on the front line.
No, Russian president Vladimir Putin did not wish former South African president Jacob Zuma happy birthday – Africa Check
Much has been made of the South African government’s close ties to Russia following news that the country will host Russian president Vladimir Putin in 2023. But images suggesting Putin congratulated former president Jacob Zuma on his birthday – on live TV – are fabricated.
Have U.S. Taxpayers Sent Over $200B to Ukraine?
False. Congress has only approved $113 billion for spending in Ukraine. Researchers tracking spending suggest that only around $77 billion has gone directly to Ukraine, a combination of financial, military and other forms of aid.
It’s not clear where the $200 billion figure has come from. A Fox News report in February 2023 attributed it to a Ukrainian government statement that Newsweek could not find. Another estimate broadcast on Tucker Carlson Tonight the same month was presented without evidence and upon inspection appears dubious.
Fake: Surrender of Bakhmut Will Collapse The Front to Western Borders of Ukraine
Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Oleksiy Danilov did not say that surrendering Bakhmut will lead to the collapse of the front to the western borders of Ukraine.
Fake: Kyiv Announces Attacks on Russian Nuclear Power Plants
In an interview with the Ukrainian Channel Five television network, former Ukrainian Special Forces Deputy commander Serhiy Kryvonos said that Ukrainians knew how to penetrate into and seize a nuclear power plant in peacetime and therefore, hypothetically, are capable of trying to seize a Russian nuclear plant in response to Russia’s occupation of the Zaporizhzhia atomic plant. Kryvonos was not speaking in any official capacity, he was speaking hypothetically, and his words do not convey any real intent on the part of Ukraine to seize or attack Russian nuclear power stations.
Was Russia’s RT To Announce Tucker Carlson as New Washington Bureau Chief?
Fox News fired its popular host Tucker Carlson within a week of agreeing to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million to settle a defamation lawsuit.
Fact check: What to make of Lavrov’s claims at the UN?
In Monday’s meeting of the United Nations Security Council, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov repeated accusations against the US, NATO and Ukraine. DW takes a look at the speech and debunks some of his claims.
Fake: Corruption up by 500% in Ukraine Over Past Year, US Aid Not Reaching…
This claim about corruption levels in Ukraine is false. During a March 29 hearing in the US House of Representatives on Ukraine aid transparency and accountability oversight mechanisms, the inspectors general of three US government agencies involved in the delivery and distribution of aid to Ukraine stated that “there is no evidence that support for Ukraine has been used improperly”. One year after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, international organizations tracking corruption have not recorded an increase in corruption in Ukraine. According to the Transparency International Corruption Index, Ukraine received 33 points in the 2022 rating, one point higher than 2the previous year.
Manipulation: Ukraine To Ban Conscripts From Enrolling to Universities
Statements about Ukraine allegedly planning to ban conscripts from enrolling to universities are completely baseless. Currently, there are no such draft laws in Ukraine, and no initiatives of this kind have been proposed by the authorities. In comments for Focus and TSN, lawyers confirmed that such a decision is extremely unlikely as it can be recognized as unconstitutional.
Video edited to show ‘white substance’ on Zelensky’s desk
An edited video apparently showing cocaine on the desk of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has circulated on social media around the world. It is the latest in a string of disinformation targeting the leader since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The suspicious, powder-like pile did not appear in the original video posted on Zelensky’s Instagram account.
FACT CHECK: Did Vladimir Putin Blame Americans For Interfering With Their Own Democracy? | Check Your Fact
Verdict: False
The video was created by the non-partisan anti-corruption organization, RepresentUs. A spokesperson for the organization confirmed the footage of Putin included in the video was not real.
Fake: Ukrainian Counteroffensive Will Suffer a Crushing Defeat
The Kremlin media completely distorted a recent Financial Times article, claiming British experts were predicting a crushing defeat for the planned Ukrainian counteroffensive. The FT did discuss the counteroffensive, but mostly in the context of what difficulties the Ukrainian military will face. The article’s conclusion is that if the Ukrainian attack is fast and brutal, then the front line will spread and the Russians will flee, just as they did during the counteroffensive near Kharkiv last year.
Fake: Ukrainian Military Torture Animals, Use Them As Sappers
Ukrainian soldiers do not use animals to clear mines. On the contrary, servicemen on the front lines are trying to remove abandoned farm animals from areas shelled by Russians.
‘Stamp of approval’: Twitter’s Musk amplifies misinformation
Elon Musk promised to make Twitter the “most accurate source of information about the world,” but he has repeatedly used his own account to amplify false claims from some of the most notorious disinformers on the internet, according to an AFP analysis of his online activity.