Latest fact checks & sources

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative on the morally corrupt West which is presented as a justification for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and serves to deflect responsibility for Moscow’s illicit actions. Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine is absurdly portrayed as a war against the West and as a noble cause of fighting for the benefit of mankind against the “culture of degeneracy, perversion, and pathology.” Western values as well as concepts which are not necessarily linked with Western values and policies but nevertheless attributed to the West in the article are intended to present the West as pernicious, immoral, degenerate, and a threat to traditional values. The narrative about threatened values is one of the most common pro-Kremlin narratives. It portrays the Russian civilisation as morally superior to the Western. Russia uses this narrative to proclaim itself the defender of traditional social and spiritual values all over the world. Progressive Western attitudes about a variety of normative issues, including the rights of women, ethnic and religious minorities, and LGBTQ groups, among others, are often undermined and distorted in pro-Kremlin outlets. Respect for individual choices is often falsely portrayed in the pro-Kremlin media as state policies aimed at propagating and imposing specific actions, such as sex changes on the population.

False claim made in connection with the case of Polish Judge Tomasz Szmydt, who fled to Belarus seeking “political asylum”. For several months, he was observed by the Polish special services who suspected him of espionage in favour of Belarus and Russia. Tomasz Szmydt is not an expert in International Public Law and has limited professional authority to accuse Ukraine of war crimes (see previous accusations in our database). In 2019, as explained by DW: “Szmydt made headlines when he was identified as being a member of a group of judges waging a smear campaign on social media against other judges”

The article contains baseless speculation devoid of any factual basis. It serves the pro-Kremlin aim of eroding morale and a narrative of a disintegrating Ukraine that is in retreat militarily. The article references a Reuters article, which states that foreign investment and the increase in internally displaced people are most noticeable in the western regions (Lviv and Transcarpathia). However, this fact, which is a consequence of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, has no bearing on the claim that the Ukrainian government is planning a resettlement to western Ukraine, specifically Lviv. Ukraine has no intention of abandoning Kyiv, the capital city. Even during the height of the war in spring 2022, the government and the president remained in Kyiv.

Social media users are sharing a viral video that purports to show French pilots painting a Russian flag in the sky, instead of a French one, during Marseille’s Olympic flyover event. We explain if this was an accident or rather an optical illusion, in this edition of Truth or Fake.

Recent months have seen a spike in disinformation about NATO and Ukraine’s allies on social media, following French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments on sending Western ground troops to fight in Ukraine. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.

As the war between Russia and Ukraine continues, claims that China has threatened the US and Nato are false.

Politico did not publish this information. Zelenskyy did not lose his legitimacy due to the cancellation of the elections

Social media users have been sharing false claims that the Ukrainian army sold two of the heavy-duty CAESAR howitzers – given by France – to Russia for $120,000 per unit. In this edition of Truth or Fake with Vedika Bahl, we look into the source of these rumours – which are based on false posts from two years ago – and why the outlet behind them is not trustworthy.

Mark Milley was referring to actions in the occupied territories, not Russia. The USA does not encourage Ukrainian forces to strike outside their own borders

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine that attempts to deny Ukraine’s sovereignty, falsely presents the on-going war against Ukraine as a civil war, and finally falsely claims that Ukraine is a tool of the US and the West to weaken Russia.

U.S officials have intelligence that the Islamic State group’s Afghan affiliate, IS-Khorasan, is responsible for the Moscow attack. “ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

These influencers frequently spread misinformation and otherwise misleading content, often in service of the same recurring narratives such as alleged voter fraud, the “woke agenda” or Democrats supposedly encouraging a surge of people through illegal immigration to steal elections or replace whites. They often use similar content and reshare each other’s posts.

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative trying to whitewash Russia’s war crimes during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. There is a significant amount of evidence that Russian troops committed war crimes and atrocities in Bucha. The evidence includes satellite images, photos, videos, and witness testimonies. Russia’s claims that video footage showing dead bodies on the streets of Bucha is staged have been fact-checked and debunked by the BBC, Bellingcat, The Atlantic Council, Mediazona, the Insider, Sky News, the New York Times and others.

Ukraine has been in a state of full-blown war since 24 February 2022, the day Russia openly invaded Ukraine. It did so unprovoked and under absurd pretexts. President Zelenskyy’s reported decision to postpone next year’s presidential poll was made in accordance with current Ukrainian legislation. Article 19 of the 2015 Ukrainian law “On the Legal Regime of Martial Law” directly prohibits the holding of presidential and several other types of elections during wartime. According to the results of a nationwide poll published on 7 February 2024, Zelenskyy is the most popular public figure in Ukraine, with 69% approval.

In 2013-2014, a phase III study of the drug under the code SB4 actually took place in a number of EU countries, South America and Ukraine – patients used an already well-studied safe drug that was potentially effective against their disease. Using this code, you can find detailed information about the goals and results of this study in open clinical trial databases (The European Union Clinical Trials Register, Good Clinical Practice Network). The purpose of the study was to compare the effectiveness of the drug SB4 and the drug Enbrel in patients who have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis.

There is no evidence that such a warning was actually issued. The likely primary source of the photo is the propaganda Telegram channel “Sheikh Tamir”. The Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council, referring to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, reported that the banner with the corresponding warning is fake, and Ukrainian border guards operate exclusively within the framework of current legislation.

The Islamic State have claimed responsibility for and shared video footage from the attacks, corroborating their claims of responsibility. U.S officials have intelligence that the Islamic State group’s Afghan affiliate, IS-Khorasan, is responsible for the Moscow attack. “ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

This accident has been used as a pretext to advance the narrative that Ukrainians are ungrateful to those who have helped them, particularly Russia. The notion that Ukrainians have benefited from Russia and are now ungrateful is incorrect. The Telegram channel odshbr_79 is a Russian fake channel imitating the official Ukrainian channel of the 79 окрема десантно-штурмова Таврійська (79th Separate Amphibious Assault). The only difference in the names of the channels is the underscore character, which the Russians used.

As terrorism experts pointed out, there is no question regarding the authenticity of the statement, made by Amaq, the official Islamic State propaganda media. The Islamic State released multiple evidence, including a gruesome video of the Moscow attack filmed by the attackers themselves, leaving little doubt about its responsibility.

The retreat of Russian forces took place because they were losing the battle for Kyiv. They needed massive reinforcements to take the capital that were not available. However, the Kremlin presented this as a “gesture of goodwill” to allegedly facilitate negotiations in Istanbul.