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.
Posts use old video to falsely claim Russian president visited South Africa in March 2023
After the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant last month for Russian President Vladimir Putin, a video re-emerged on social media claiming to show him arriving in South Africa for an official visit. But this is false: the video was filmed in July 2018 ahead of the 10th summit of the BRICS group, which South Africa hosted. AFP Fact Check previously debunked a similar claim about the video a few months after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Is This a Real Recruitment Poster to US Welfare Recipients for the International Legion of Ukraine?
[T]he poster is not legitimate. Not only is it riddled with suspicious errors, the Embassy of Ukraine in the USA has denied authorship of, or support for, the poster. For these reasons, we rate the claim as “False.”
Fact check: Posts make unsupported claims about Zelenskyy’s finances
The claim: Zelenskyy has a Florida home, $1.2 billion in overseas account, 15 homes, 3 planes and $11 million in monthly income.
Our rating: False
No, Vladimir Putin has not become president of the United Nations
Russia is taking its turn in a rotating leadership position within the U.N. That doesn’t mean Putin is now president of the organization.
Why fake anti-Zelensky graffiti is showing up all over the world – The Observers
Did graffiti depicting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a black hole “sucking up European money” really appear on the streets of a Paris suburb? What about graffiti showing the president as an insect or as excrement? According to images circulating online, graffiti like this has been popping up on the streets of several European cities. But in fact, none of them ever existed. We took a closer look to prove that they are fake.
Geolocation proves video showing soldiers harassing Russian-speaking woman is staged – Truth or Fake
A video shared by everyone from prominent Russian media to official Kremlin social media accounts purports to show Ukrainian soldiers harassing a woman and her child. But open source communities’ debunking of the video has prompted an unusual backtrack from some of the pro-Russian lobby. We take a closer look in this edition of Truth or Fake.
Truth or Fake 2023: image verification in the age of AI and video games
For France’s Press and Media in Schools Week 2023, France 24’s Observers team, specialised in debunking misinformation, has produced a new annual edition of “Truth or Fake”, a short programme giving tips on how to disentangle fact from fiction.
Four tips for detecting AI-generated images – Truth or Fake
Apps like DALL-E and Midjourney are making it easier and easier to create realistic-looking images using artificial intelligence. In this video, Derek Thomson shares four tips on how to detect them, but warns that the technology is improving fast.
How to check images on TikTok? – Truth or Fake
“Victims” of Russia’s war in Ukraine who mysteriously move while being filmed? That’s according to a recent post on TikTok. It’s not true, but how do you prove it?
How to detect ‘deepfakes’ – Truth or Fake
Using artificial intelligence to make videos of people doing and saying whatever you want them to is the essence of a “deepfake”.
Video games & reality: How to tell the difference? – Truth or Fake
Soldiers fighting… missiles destroying tanks… war scenes in full splendor. Footage from video games is so realistic that it is often used to portray real-life war scenes.
Fake: Ukrainian Soldiers Fire on Car with Russian Speaking Mother and Child
Russian media are disseminating a video claiming it shows a Ukrainian
soldier shooting at a car with a woman and child inside because the woman
was speaking Russian. This poorly staged video was shot in Russian occupied
Ukraine near Donetsk. The alleged Russian speaking woman and child are
never seen, the location of the alleged incident is a spot where Ukrainian
military simply could not be present, all and the cross painted on the back
of the alleged Ukrainian military vehicle – a symbol that has never been
used by the Ukrainian military, all point to the the video being yet
another Russian fake.
Fact check: No, Putin did not kneel before Xi Jinping
A strange image has gone viral. Did Vladimir Putin really get down on one knee and kiss the hand of Xi Jinping? No. The picture, which was allegedly taken during the Chinese leader’s recent trip to Russia, is fake.
Why these images do not prove that Vladimir Putin sent a ‘body double’ to Mariupol
Did Vladimir Putin really use a body double during his recent visit to Mariupol, Ukraine? That’s the question posed by several posts that began circulating on social media on March 20, 2023. However, while these posts claim to show evidence of physical differences in the president’s face, the images they rely on are far from conclusive.
Fake: Ukraine Actively Recruits Female Chemists and Biologists
In Ukraine, mobilization for women is not compulsory, regardless of their specialties. Currently, about 5,000 women are voluntarily serving in the military.
Fake: Ukrainian Army Beat Brazilian Volunteer Who Tried to Escape
The video is another propaganda staging. The man allegedly being ‘beaten’ on the back with a stick does not have a Brazilian Portuguese accent, as it should be if he were really from Brazil. StopFake confirmed that the man spoke European Portuguese, which was evidently not his native language. Another important argument is the fact that the Brazilians, who are indeed among the volunteers, do not serve in the 128th brigade of the Ukrainian Forces. Like other foreign volunteers who came to defend Ukraine, Brazilians serve only as part of the Armed Forces International Legion.
Fake: UK Transfer of Uranium Shells to Ukraine is “Nuclear Escalation and a New…
The UK Ministry of Defence says depleted uranium is a standard component of
modern armaments and is not a nuclear weapon, and calls Russian statements
on the issue “deliberate disinformation”. The British army has been using
depleted uranium in its armor-piercing shells for decades, and independent
scientific research has shown that depleted uranium impact on human health
and the environment is minimal.
Fake: Moscow Patriarchate Priests Kicked Out of Zelensky’s Office by a False Alarm
An air raid alert signaling an enemy drone detected near Kyiv sounded, and the drone was subsequently shot down by Ukrainian air defense.
No, This Isn’t Footage From the War in Ukraine
The video showed footage from the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and was posted on the 20th anniversary of the invasion.
Fake: US Intelligence Officer Says Poland Contributes to Ukraine’s Armed Forces Destruction
Poland providing Ukraine with MiG-29 fighter jets does not in any way contribute to the “destruction of Ukraine’s Armed Forces”. On the contrary, Poland and Slovakia’s decision to transfer several dozen fighter jets to the Ukrainian military will only strengthen Ukraine’s combat readiness for the expected counteroffensive. Poland is one of Ukraine’s main partners in providing military assistance and training Ukrainian soldiers. Warsaw was one of the first countries to announce it would send German Leopard 2 tanks, as well as MiG-29 jets to Ukraine.