Latest fact checks & sources

This is not a genuine cover of The Economist. It has not been shared on the publication’s archive of past editions, or elsewhere on its website. The Economist edition for 24 February 2024 did feature a different illustration of President Putin and Mr Trump with the title ‘Is Europe ready?’

This is not a genuine cover of The Economist. It has not been shared on the publication’s archive of past editions, or elsewhere on its website. The Economist edition for 24 February 2024 did feature a different illustration of President Putin and Mr Trump with the title ‘Is Europe ready?’

As Ukraine braces for colder months, a well-coordinated and adaptive humanitarian response will be fundamental to help save lives. Here are 5 facts you need to know about the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine:

A spokesperson for the organisation told Full Fact: “This is a bogus claim. Secretary General Rutte has never said this.” They also pointed us towards the Secretary General’s most recent remarks made to the media about President-elect Trump, congratulating him on his election victory and praising him for getting NATO countries to spend more on defence during his first presidency beyond two percent of the GDP target.

NATO spokesperson Daniele Riggio told PolitiFact the claim is “bogus.” “Secretary General Rutte has never said this,” Riggio said. This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed.

This quote is not real, however. There is no proof that Rutte has ever said or implied that he would expel the U.S. from NATO, and Rutte congratulated the incoming President on his victory in a post on X just two days after Election Day.

There was no real evidence of Rutte making the statement, which would have generated news headlines if he had actually said it. The quote was fabricated. A NATO spokesperson said the claim was “bogus.”

Rubio has commented on the need for a pragmatic approach to end the Ukraine conflict, but he hasn’t suggested allowing Russia to control Ukrainian territory as a solution. During a recent interview on NBC’s Meet the Press and on the Today Show, Rubio said the war appears to be in a “stalemate” and argued for a negotiated settlement as a realistic path to peace. He highlighted the bravery of Ukrainians but expressed concern about the U.S. funding a prolonged conflict, suggesting that a practical end to the hostilities should be prioritized to prevent further destruction and economic strain on Ukraine.

There is no evidence that a Ukrainian F-16 shot down a Russian Su-24 or any other Russian military aircraft. The Kyiv Post reported that Ukrainian media has said such reports have been unconfirmed and with the exception of a singular Russian Telegram channel, most Russian sources have been silent or denied the claim.

Advertising campaign calling for “stand with Ukraine,” which was allegedly initiated by the Ukrainian government, is fake. The corporation that installed the billboard shown in the video denied the existence of such an advertisement.

The New York Times article does indeed contain a prediction that Russia may outpace European countries and the United States in terms of economic growth this year. However, this forecast does not belong to the NYT economic columnist Patricia Cohen, as the Russian media claim, but to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Also, Russian media cover only a part of the article – the part about the resilience of the Russian economy to Western sanctions. Instead, the main idea of the publication, which is to prove that the Russian economy is currently working to wage war in Ukraine, remains unaddressed by propagandists. Russian publications also ignore the problems in the consumer sector that Russians are currently facing.

This video has never been shown on Ukrainian television. To create a fake video, its authors used the real story of the American news program CBS Mornings and replaced its audio track.

None of the ally states, except aggressive Russia, have any territorial claims to Ukraine. Experts suggest rebuilding post-war Ukraine using the experience of the Second World War aftermath.

Such statements are not true. There are no sanctions for communicating with residents of temporarily occupied territories. There are some obstacles such as problems with communication and the safety of people who are under occupation. But they are a direct consequence of Russia’s armed aggression in Ukraine and the violent seizure of Ukrainian territories by the Russian military.

Romania has not made any statements that it is going to evacuate Ukrainian citizens from the Gaza Strip in the first place. Evacuation of citizens of all nationalities from the Gaza Strip is currently impossible.

The French media La Montagne did not publish an article entitled “Sanctions against Russia led to a bedbug epidemic in Paris.” Most likely, a screenshot of this publication was created in a photo editor. Mass appearances of bedbugs are not related to anti-Russian sanctions, but to the insects adapting to insecticides, climate change and people beginning to travel more in crowded transport.

The document on the video is fake. It does not match the official sample of the drafting paper. The graphs are incorrectly indicated and the text is full of errors. Most likely, this video was created as a provocation.

Russian propaganda, using the CNN article, made a manipulative generalization that Poles in general do not want to see Ukrainians in their country anymore. The original source does not talk about the mood in Poland in general, but only covers a rally of the far-right Confederation party, known for its anti-Ukrainian rhetoric. In the parliamentary elections, this party received the lowest result, and a national poll in September 2023 showed that 65% of Poles support the reception of refugees from Ukraine.

Russian propagandist Margarita Simonyan admitted in her TV program that this video was created by the Russia Today team, and that they will continue to produce similar content.

The photo used by Russian propaganda to spread disinformation was edited in Photoshop. In fact, the image shows a rally in Israel in support of Ukraine that took place in the summer of 2022. In the original photo, the protester is holding a poster that reads “Russia is a terrorist state,” and there is no poster with words about Israel in the background.