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.
Photo of Biden, Zelenskyy holding hands was altered
President Joe Biden made a surprise trip to Ukraine on Feb. 20, and he was photographed walking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy outside of a monastery in Kyiv.
Multiple news outlets have published the picture. But an altered version of the photo is spreading on social media….Biden announced more military aid for Ukraine on the trip, but the image, taken for The New York Times by photographer Daniel Berehulak, is doctored.
We rate claims the photo is authentic False.
What do we know about the Ukrainian soldier accused of wearing an ‘Islamic State badge’?
Since Thursday, February 16, numerous posts online have featured screenshots of a Danish television report showing a Ukrainian soldier with a patch on his uniform that some are saying means he belongs to the Islamic State organisation. However, there is no clear proof of what this patch represents. The Ukrainian soldier in question has given his own version of events.
Photo of Biden, Zelensky manipulated to show leaders holding hands
Social media users are claiming a photo from Joe Biden’s surprise trip to Kyiv shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holding his US counterpart’s hand to keep him nearby. This is false; the image has been digitally manipulated to re-position the leaders’ hands, the New York Times photographer who took the picture confirmed to AFP.
A year of disinformation around the war in Ukraine | Fact Check
The war in Ukraine has been accompanied by a ferocious battle of disinformation, waged in particular by pro-Russian agitators seeking to distort and shift the blame for many atrocities on the ground. They have sought to depict the Ukrainian side as Nazis or suggest that Western support for Kyiv is evaporating. Here are some of the main narratives, false or misleading, that have been fact-checked over the past year by AFP’s digital verification teams.
Video of Biden saying some U.S. aid could support Ukrainian pensions is from April 2022
President Biden did say some U.S. aid to Ukraine could go to social support, like helping with pensions. The viral video clip is from 2022.
Fact check: How propaganda denigrates Ukrainian refugees
Ukrainian refugees are portrayed in some media and social media channels as ungrateful, dangerous and parasitic. DW explains why such propagandist tactics often work – and how to recognize them for what they are.
Is Putin Ally’s Son Dodging Ukraine Draft as Model in London?
Unverified. At least one of the photos shared regularly online about Vladimir Solovyov’s son is misleading and of somebody else; the Irish model Tommy Solovyov.
But there is also no definitive evidence to show that his actual son is currently based in London modeling or elsewhere. Another photo frequently shared online indicates that he has modeled or is modeling; however, that agency is based in Russia.
Team Jorge’: Journalists expose the business of disinformation black ops – Tech 24
This week saw the release of a wide-ranging investigation into the lucrative disinformation industry, published by a media consortium led by the French NGO Forbidden Stories. At the centre of the story is a shadowy Israeli group nicknamed “Team Jorge” who claims it has influenced 33 elections worldwide with a potent combination of phone hacking and thousands of fake profiles. FRANCE 24’s Technology Editor Peter O’Brien dives into the systems they use to wage disinformation “black ops”.
Chinese social media users share edited Putin speech video with false subtitles about Ukraine
Chinese social media users have repeatedly shared a doctored clip of Russian President Vladimir Putin giving a speech with false subtitles that claim he said he will not step down from power until “the problem in Ukraine is settled”. However, the video contains clips taken from two different addresses and audio from one of the speeches. The Chinese and English language subtitles are false translations of the speech. As of February 17, 2023, AFP has found no official reports about Putin making such an announcement.
Vladimir Putin didn’t intercept shipment of chemical compound adrenochrome
Adrenochrome features heavily in QAnon conspiracy theories, which purport the baseless idea that a global cabal of pedophiles is harvesting the chemical from the blood of children to stay young and healthy.
That’s false, and so is the claim that Putin foiled a shipment of it.
We found no credible news reports or other sources to corroborate the claims in this post.
Real Raw News has a disclaimer saying it contains “humor, parody and satire,” though the author has defended his stories as truth. The website also regularly publishes false, fantastical stories authored by someone using a pseudonym.
We rate this baseless post Pants on Fire!
Posts Misquote Biden’s Year-Old Remarks on Tanks for Ukraine
President Joe Biden announced on Jan. 25 that the U.S. would provide Ukraine with 31 tanks. After the announcement, a meme on social media misquoted Biden’s remarks from March 2022, suggesting he said that sending tanks to Ukraine would cause World War III. Biden said sending weapons “with American pilots and American crews” would cause a world war.
Fact check: Russia’s disinformation campaign targets NATO
In the battle for influence running parallel to Russia’s war on Ukraine, the Kremlin has consistently taken aim at NATO. DW asked experts how the propaganda machine works.
Have Over 150K Ukraine Troops Been Killed in Russia Conflict?
Unverified. The figures quoted in Twitter come from a Turkish website that does not link to its sources, nor does it provide any other authenticated evidence.
The claim that it received its data from Israeli security services is also highly dubious.
While we cannot verify the actual number of soldiers killed on either side of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the estimates quoted in the tweet and the article do not match anywhere near the figures cited by Western intelligence services and senior officials.
Did Volodymyr Zelensky call for ‘preventive nuclear strikes’ against Russia? Not exactly
Social media users have been circulating a video of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, claiming that the footage shows him calling on NATO to launch preventive nuclear strikes against Russia. It turns out, however, that this footage isn’t new – Zelensky made these statements back in October 2022. Moreover, the translation of his statement, originally in Ukrainian, leaves out some nuance.
Manipulation: Bill Gates: Ukraine Is World’s Biggest Danger
Bill Gates did not say that in the coming years Ukraine will be the greatest danger for the world. In an interview with the German newspaper Handelsblatt, the well-known philanthropist stressed that war is a “terrible tragedy” for the country where hostilities are taking place, but the echoes of this war also reverberate throughout the world. In particular, African countries are now receiving less attention because European budgets are being reallocated to other needs brought on by the pandemic, the war, and the energy crisis.
Fake: Spring Sowing Campaign Under Threat As All Grain Taken Out of Ukraine
Preparations for the spring sowing campaign in Ukraine are in full swing.
Despite the Russian invasion, mined fields and the temporary occupation of
some regions, Ukraine is preparing to sow enough grain to not only meet the
country’s annual needs, but to also to allow grain and foodstuffs exports
to foreign markets.
Manipulation: Ukraine To Become Uninhabitable – Foreign Affairs
A recent article talks about steps to be taken to help Ukrainian energy networks
avoid collapse in the face of relentless Russian bombardment. The author
argues that this is no less important than the supply of modern weapons.
The possibility of Ukraine becoming uninhabitable is discussed only in the
event of a complete lack of support from the West, and the total Russian
destruction of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Fake: Expressing Condolences, Zelenskyy Urges Turkey to Supply Ukraine More Aid
Russian social media users are claiming that while expressing condolences about the tragic earthquake that struck Turkey, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also reminded Ankara that he hopes Turkey will continue to provide assistance to Ukraine. President Zelensky never posted such a tweet, this post is a fake. On the contrary, the Ukrainian President offered help to Turkey and said that Ukrainian rescuers and equipment were being sent to participate in the rescue efforts.
Fake: US Unlikely to Hand over Abrams Tanks to Ukraine’ – Financial Times
The Financial Times article cited in this latest Russian fake claiming the
US is unlikely to actually send Abrams tanks to Ukraine, features several
experts, some of whom said that Ukraine may face difficulties using the
Abrams tanks. However, neither the author of the article nor the experts
featured in the story ever said that the United States could “refuse to
transfer Abrams tanks to Ukraine because of the technically complex process
of maintaining their combat readiness.”
Debunked: The fake anti-Ukraine ads targeting US and Poland – Truth or Fake
The FRANCE 24 Observers team have conducted an investigation since November 2022 and have spotted a variety of fake anti-Ukraine ads throughout the globe – a product of Russian disinformation and propaganda. Find out more in this edition of Truth or Fake.