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.
Did Putin Promote Drug Smuggler U.S. Exchanged for Ex-Marine?
True. Konstantin Yaroshenko was convicted in 2011 for his involvement in a major drug smuggling operation. It is also true that he was part of a prisoner exchange that also included Trevor Reed, a former U.S. marine.
In October 2022, Yaroshenko was indeed appointed to civic office by the Russian president’s decree, having earlier expressed an interest in “human rights advocacy” and “social work.”
Are Stray Dogs ‘Lining Up’ for Pet Food in War-Torn Kramatorsk?
The dogs in the photo were pictured lined up near a feeding station in Kramatorsk, as confirmed by photos and film clips taken by volunteers in the city.
While there have been other recorded instances of dogs queueing, they were often highly trained. It’s not clear whether these dogs were patiently waiting their turns or it was simply a well-timed photo, but the image is deeply heart-warming nonetheless.
Fact check: Russia’s false case for a dirty bomb in Ukraine
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has published photos purporting to prove that Ukraine is building a dirty bomb. In truth, the photos are of entirely different things – including reactors in Russia.
Russia’s Claim That Photo Shows ‘Dirty Bomb’ in Ukraine
The images in the graphic, shared by the Russian Ministry of Defence, are not of a Ukrainian dirty bomb facility or evidence of the creation of a dirty bomb.
Some are photos of Russian and Siberian research facilities. Another, according to the Slovenian government, is from a 2010 Radioactive Waste Management presentation by a Slovenian non-profit. One of the images has been used several times over on different websites since 2010.
No, Ukraine does not have nuclear bombs or “dirty bombs”
Ukraine does not have a nuclear bomb or a “dirty bomb,” according to experts and watchdogs.
The country used to have Soviet-era nuclear weapons but returned them to Russia after the Soviet Union collapsed.
Ukraine also dismantled or destroyed its nuclear missiles and silos. Its nuclear materials are now used for peaceful purposes.
Experts and watchdogs say Ukraine has neither a nuclear bomb nor a “dirty bomb.” Ukraine used to have nuclear weapons but it transferred them to Russia after the Soviet Union collapsed and dismantled or destroyed its nuclear missiles and silos. The nation’s nuclear materials are now used for peaceful purposes.
We rate the post False.
Is Ukraine really developing a dirty bomb? Be careful of Russian claims
Ukraine is apparently in the process of developing a so-called dirty bomb – a bomb containing radioactive elements – or, at least, that’s the narrative that Moscow has been peddling since October 23, 2022. The Russian Ministry of Defence posted these claims to Telegram and Twitter, along with illustrated documents meant to support these claims. But the images published in these documents are old and some of them were even taken in Russia.
Is Red Cross Funding Families of Mobilized Russians?
As stated on its website the Russian Red Cross, an organization making up the international network of Red Cross societies, has been fundraising and providing support for Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine and their families.
However, this does not mean that other Red Cross societies or its international organizing bodies have any part in its fundraising. The International Federation of Red Cross says it is guided by “impartiality”, among its guiding principles.
Video clips mischaracterized as showing fake Ukraine war footage
A recent Instagram post sharing a TikTok video issues a “wake up call,” purportedly pointing to several clips as evidence that scenes of war in Ukraine have been staged.
Using reverse image searches and InVid, a site that helps identify the origins of video clips, we found the ones featured in the Instagram post, and neither is meant to show real footage of the war in Ukraine.
Those claims were wrong, and so is this one. We rate the claim that these clips show fake war footage in Ukraine Pants on Fire.
Debunking Russia’s ‘dirty bomb’ allegations – Truth or Fake
Russia recently accused Ukraine of fabricating a “dirty bomb”. These allegations were made on official Kremlin Telegram and Twitter accounts, accompanied by explanatory slides that seemed to implicitly support their claims. However, we found that many of the images are unrelated to the accusations. For example, some of the images presented as Ukrainian nuclear plants are actually Russian nuclear facilities. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.
Finland did not advise citizens to ‘urgently buy iodine tablets after escalation of war in Ukraine’
Several Thai posts have shared a misleading claim that the Finnish government advised its citizens to urgently buy iodine tablets after an escalation of the war in Ukraine. It circulated in October 2022 after the Nordic country updated its guidelines on the use of iodine in case of a radiation hazard. A government official told AFP that events in Ukraine would not compromise radiation safety in Finland. They added that their guidelines aim to ensure there is protection for the most vulnerable in case of an emergency resulting from a nuclear reactor accident, as they are heavily dependent on nuclear power.
CNN didn’t report that Uganda’s president said it would be ‘disgusting’ to support Ukraine
Uganda’s president came out as an early supporter of russia but this is not a real CNN headline.
The post appears to be an altered screenshot of a 2014 story on CNN’s website. The story features a paused video of Museveni in which he appears wearing the same outfit and in front of the same background as the image of him in the Instagram post.
We found no credible news reports or other sources documenting Museveni as saying it would be disgusting to support Ukraine.
We rate that claim False.
Video game clip falsely shared as NATO military convoy being destroyed in Ukraine – Truth or Fake
A viral post on Facebook claims to show a convoy of NATO military advisers being destroyed by Russian missiles. While many users believe that the images represent actual fighting, they were actually taken from a war video game series called Arma 3. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.
Did Putin Suggest Russia Would Use Ukrainians as Human Shields?
True. The video of Putin saying Russian troops would “stand behind the people,” and dare Ukrainian troops to “shoot their own people” is genuine. The statement was made during his 2014 press conference.
While it is unclear if he implied using them as human shields, he did specify “not in front of them, but behind,” further supporting that interpretation.
Were these Ukrainians staging a fake battle scene? Nope, it’s a music video
Pro-Russian social media accounts have been widely circulating a video over the past few weeks that shows a man dressed as a Ukrainian soldier acting out a scene in front of a camera. These accounts have claimed this video is proof that people are staging scenes of the war in Ukraine. Turns out, however, the video was filmed during the shooting of a music video by a Ukrainian artist whose music represents the “pain of war”.
Photo of Zelenskyy holding a jersey with a swastika was altered
This photo was altered. In the original, Zelenskyy is holding a jersey that has the number 95, not a swastika.
The original image was distributed by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service in June 2021. According to a caption on Agence France-Presse’s website, it shows him “posing with a jersey of Ukraine’s national football team.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has pushed the idea that the effort is one of “denazification,” a narrative historians have decried as “false and destructive.”
We rate claims Zelenskyy was holding a jersey with a swastika False.
Fact Check: Has Russia Lost More Men in Ukraine than U.S. in Recent Wars?
Ukraine has claimed that Russia has lost 66,280 troops since the start of the war, although other estimates puts the figure at much lower.
The man in this video is an actor, but it does not mean the Ukraine war is being staged – Truth or Fake
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, repeated false claims have appeared on social media alleging that the entire conflict is being staged. FRANCE 24’s fact-checking team debunk the latest example: two videos that show a man in Ukrainian army uniform being filmed, as he appears to act out a scene on the battlefield.
No, US actor Sean Penn didn’t film fake videos of the invasion of Ukraine in March 2022 – no proof anyone has – Africa Check
We’ve seen plenty of outlandish claims about the war between Russia and Ukraine on social media. But one claiming actor Sean Penn was involved in faking the entire conflict may take the cake – and is certainly also false.
Fact check: ‘Staging’ of air attack victims in Kyiv?
After the rockets comes the propaganda – pro-Russian voices have claimed that wounded people in Kyiv were just actors staging their suffering. But a DW fact check shows that the victims are real.
Did Fuel Crisis Force Berliners to Chop Trees in Tiergarten?
Germans have not been chopping down trees in Tiergarten, Berlin, to meet energy needs. The claim is a misquote from a Bloomberg article about firewood demand.
While the article mentions that residents in the German capital did resort to felling parts of the park after the Second World War, the article clearly states that no such thing has happened today following Russia’s shutdown of gas supplies to Europe.
The misquote, however, has been widely shared by pro-Russian accounts to support their narrative about the energy crisis in Europe.