Source format Video

Video with inaccurate subtitles does not show ‘Putin praising Pakistan PM Imran Khan’

A video has circulated in social media posts that claim it shows Russian President Vladimir Putin praising Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan after the two leaders met in Moscow on the day Russia invaded neighbouring Ukraine. The clip was viewed hundreds of thousands of times in posts by Pakistan-based social media users. In fact, the video's English-language subtitles have been misleadingly altered. In the original clip, Putin was shown criticising Ukraine.

March 3, 2022

Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings USA Putin European Union Misconceptions Ukraine Russia International community Pakistan

This video shows a Libyan military jet shot down by rebels in 2011

A video of a plane engulfed in flames and falling from the sky has been viewed more than 1.5 million times in social media posts that claim it shows a Russian fighter jet shot down by Ukrainian forces in February 2022. In reality, the video predates the Russian invasion of Ukraine and shows a Libyan jet targeted by rebels in 2011.

March 3, 2022

Media taken out of context Fact checks / debunkings Methods Misconceptions Ukraine Russia International community

Old video game footage falsely shared as ‘combat in Ukraine after Russian invasion’

A video has been viewed tens of thousands of times across social media platforms alongside a claim it shows missiles over Ukraine after Russian forces invaded on February 24. But the video has been shared in a false context: it shows digitally animated footage from the video game War Thunder that circulated online months before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

March 3, 2022

Media taken out of context Fact checks / debunkings Methods Misconceptions Ukraine Russia

Video footage from 2014 misleadingly cast as Russian invasion

Footage of armored vehicles set alight by Molotov cocktails on a Ukrainian street is being presented on social media as local resistance against Russia's ongoing invasion. This is false; the recording is from Ukraine, but it was shot in 2014 in Kyiv during the country's popular protest movement, when demonstrators torched the army's vehicles.

March 2, 2022

Disinformation Media taken out of context Fact checks / debunkings 2014 Maidan revolution Methods Misconceptions Context Ukraine Russia

Footage shows Ukraine in 2022, not Russia in 2018

Social media posts claim US broadcaster ABC misrepresented a video of a 2018 gas explosion in Russia as footage from the war in Ukraine. This is false; the clip was shot in Ukraine by a Turkish news agency, and a similar video from AFP confirms that the incident took place following Russia's 2022 invasion of its eastern European neighbor.

March 2, 2022

Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings USA Narratives Misconceptions Ukraine The war is a hoax Russia International community

Misleading post claims Syria footage shows Ukraine conflict

A Facebook post claims a video shows fighting in Ukraine. This is misleading; most of the footage was shot in Syria and released by Kurdish forces, while part of the clip is taken from CNN coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

March 2, 2022

Media taken out of context Fact checks / debunkings Methods Misconceptions Ukraine Russia Syria International community

This animation video circulated online months before Russia’s attack on Ukraine

A video has been viewed tens of thousands of times on Facebook alongside a claim it shows Russia bombing Ukraine. The video was shared shortly after Russian forces invaded the neighbouring country. But the video has been shared in a false context: it is actually an animation clip that has circulated online since at least October 2021.

March 2, 2022

Media taken out of context Fact checks / debunkings Methods Misconceptions Ukraine Russia

Video game falsely shared as ‘live footage’ of Ukraine conflict

As Russia pressed on with its invasion of Ukraine, a video clip was viewed thousands of times in Facebook and YouTube posts that claimed it showed live footage of the fighting. In reality, the footage was taken from a combat video game called ARMA 3.

March 1, 2022

Media taken out of context Fact checks / debunkings Methods Misconceptions Ukraine Russia

Is Russia using mobile crematoriums in Ukraine? – Truth or Fake

British website The Telegraph is reporting that Russia is using mobile crematoriums in Ukraine in bid to hide its losses. But the accompanying video footage of a crematorium actually dates from 2013. It was posted by a Russian incinerator construction company and is not footage from the ground. The use of mobile crematoriums by Russians during the current war in Ukraine is yet to be verified. We tell you more in this edition.

February 28, 2022

Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Russia

5 fakes of the war in Ukraine

5 fakes of the war in Ukraine including:
#1. "Celebrating the war". Video claims to show Russian soldiers dancing before heading to the frontline in Ukraine. In reality, dancing was in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
#2. "Russian jets launching attacks" - False. Video is from video game "Arma-3".
#3. "Formation of jets over an urban areas" - Not from war in Ukraine. Video is from a 2020 Moscow air show.
#4. "German news shows hundreds of Russian soldiers allegedly parachuting over the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv" - False. Old video from Russia (2016).

February 27, 2022

Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Ukraine Russia