Latest fact checks & sources

A video uploaded in September 2023 depicts what appears to be an angel in the sky over Ukraine. However, the same video had been uploaded the year prior by a TikTok account with similar videos that all appear to be edited.

Canada’s recognition in parliament of Canadian-Ukrainian World War II veteran Yaroslav Hunka, who fought on the side of the Nazis, sparked public outrage in September 2023. Pro-Russian social media accounts seized the moment, alleging that Ukraine had released a postage stamp to immortalise Hunka. But the claim is false: AFP Fact Check found that the barcode on the stamp belongs to another series of Ukrainian stamps. Ukraine’s national postal service also confirmed the Hunka stamp does not exist.

Claim: As of October 2023, the Ukrainian government was preparing to legalize the production of pornography to help fund the country’s military. Rating: False

A video of uniformed soldiers and tanks flying white flags taken in Ukraine is circulating on social media. It shows a temporary ceasefire in order to swap prisoners, not Ukrainian troops surrendering.

Verdict: False BBC did not publish this video nor did Bellingcat make the claim. There is no evidence that Ukraine supplied Hamas with weapons.

Many claim the video shows “white phosphorus bombs” being used in the Gaza Strip.

Verdict: False There are thousands of videos of the Russian-Ukrainian war available.

A viral video circulating on Russian-speaking social media accounts claims to show weapons that Ukraine sent to Hamas before the group’s attack on Israel. The same images were also used in a fabricated report belonging to a fake media investigation. In this edition of Truth or Fake, Vedika Bahl debunks these claims, with support from two weapons and open source intelligence experts.

Meta, the parent company of social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, as well as X, formerly known as Twitter, have responded to a letter from EU Commissioner Thierry Breton urging caution over an increase in disinformation and illegal content. Both social media giants have said they’ve taken action on social media posts that violate EU law. Also in this edition: Argentinian presidential candidates play the blame game on currency devaluation and US auto workers escalate their strike.

“Bellingcat: Ukrainian military offensive failure and HAMAS attack linked,” opening text on the video claimed. But the BBC never published that report, and the underlying claim is unsubstantiated.

Putin does not mention Israel or Palestine, but rather, discusses the threat of nuclear war in relation to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine

Verdict: False There is no evidence supporting the claim. A photo included in the post originally stems from a November 2022 EurAsian Times article.

Verdict: False The post is miscaptioned. The video depicts a Russian attack on Ukraine from March.

CLAIM: A video shows a BBC News report confirming Ukraine provided weapons to Hamas. AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The widely shared video clip is fabricated. Officials with the BBC and Bellingcat, an investigative news website that is cited in the video as the source, confirm that neither outlet has reported such a claim. Experts say there is no evidence of Hamas making such a claim, either, and say there is no reason for Ukraine to arm the militant group.

Russian propaganda channel RT Arabic asked the Israel’s IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee about “Ukraine providing Western weaponry to Hamas” several times. Lt. Colonel Adraee replied: “I do not comment on such fabrications and lies.”

As of 31 October 2022, OHCHR – through the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) – had documented summary executions and attacks on individual civilians in 102 villages and towns of the three regions between 24 February and 6 April 2022. The acts in question were committed by Russian armed forces in control of these areas and led to the deaths of 441 civilians (341 men, 72 women, 20 boys and 8 girls). One hundred of those killings are analysed in this report and its Annex, as illustrative examples of the suffering borne by civilians in these areas. Information available to OHCHR indicates that the total number of summary executions and lethal attacks directed against individual civilians by Russian armed forces in the three regions during the reporting period is likely considerably higher.

Claim: Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska spent $1,100,000 on Cartier jewelry and got a salesperson fired in the process during a visit to the U.S. with her husband, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in September 2023. Rating: False

A video circulating on X, as well as several Russian media outlets, claims Olena Zelenska’s “Russian passport” was discovered in a raid of the couple’s flat in occupied Crimea. However, there are several inconsistencies suggesting its inauthenticity, including the photograph and serial number. Vedika Bahl explains in this edition of Truth or Fake.

The video, which has USA Today’s logo and style, has been shared across multiple social media platforms.

Russian propaganda is linking the current bedbug outbreak in Paris to Ukrainian refugees. To “prove” this false narrative, pro-Russian accounts on social media are sharing fabricated French media publications from Le Figaro, Libération and Contrepoints, falsely claiming that “parasite experts believe that the bedbug epidemic in Paris is linked to the influx of Ukrainian refugees in the capital”. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.