Facebook posts shared hundreds of times purport to show a photo of a Ukrainian tank in Iraq. They accuse Ukraine of hypocrisy for condemning Russia's invasion, despite apparently having played a role in the Iraq War. In fact, the tank photo has been doctored to add a Ukrainian flag and coat of arms. While Ukrainian troops did serve in Iraq, the photo resembles images of American troops at the Iraq-Kuwait border during the Gulf War.
A photo of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wearing military gear has been shared hundreds of times in social media posts alongside a claim that it shows him on the frontline after Russia invaded the neighbouring country in February 2022. However, the claim is false. The picture actually shows Zelensky visiting Ukraine's eastern region in April 2021, nearly a year before the Russian invasion began.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, following months of military buildup and, as we’ve written, repeated denials by Russian officials that their country planned to invade.
As is often the case with major news events, we have seen several false and misleading claims made on social media and by politicians related to the conflict.
Social media posts claim a video featuring a man in military uniform tearfully embracing a woman and a baby depicts a Ukrainian soldier heading to war. But the clip shows the 2018 homecoming of an American Marine who met his son for the first time.
A Facebook post has shared a broadcast video of warplanes as proof that a pair of supersonic Russian nuclear jets touched down in South Africa's capital Pretoria amid the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. However, the claim has been shared out of context: the footage, while authentic, was taken in 2019 when Russia landed two of its heralded 'White Swans' strategic bombers in South Africa to 'deepen military cooperation' between the two nations.
As the civilian death toll mounted in Ukraine following Russia's invasion, a video has been viewed tens of thousands of times in social media posts that claim it shows a "staged scene of the Russian military bombing of Ukrainian civilians". But the clip in fact shows production footage for a science fiction film released years before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the movie's director told AFP. The scene was shot in the United Kingdom - not Ukraine.
An image that appears to show an eBay listing for a Russian tank has been shared tens of thousands of times on social media alongside a claim Ukrainians are selling armoured combat vehicles after seizing them. The posts are false; the purported listing has been created using a stock photo that has circulated online since at least 2010. A spokesperson for eBay told AFP the listing was not genuine. According to its website, the e-commerce company does not allow military equipment to be sold on its platform.
A report broadcast on March 7 by the Russian channel Vesti 92 shows a distribution of food to the residents of Kherson, a town in southern Ukraine occupied by the Russian army. But according to the town's residents, the footage shot on March 4 was actually staged and concealed one important detail: residents protesting the Russian occupation in front of the distribution trucks, as revealed by three amateur videos of the same scene.
China's government is amplifying debunked claims about non-existent U.S. biological weapons labs in Ukraine, bringing the falsehoods back into the spotlight on social media.
Our ruling
A spokesperson for the Chinese government said the U.S. has biolabs in Ukraine.
The claim originated with the Russian government and has been previously debunked by U.S. government officials and weapons control advocates. Following Zhao's March 9 remarks, U.S. government officials strongly refuted the claims again, saying the false narrative was being used to lay the groundwork for further violence in Ukraine.
Verdict: False
The video features Boyce Avenue member Alejandro Manzano and English musician Connie Talbot. The music video does not feature Zelenskyy or mention Ukraine at any point.