Latest fact checks & sources

A widely shared image claims to show a notice from Twitter informing users that only the platform’s paid subscribers would be able to feature the Ukrainian flag emoji on their profiles. This is false; the supposed screenshot appears to be a digital fabrication, and Twitter has made no such policy announcement.

There is no information in the video to prove those hit were civilians. Moreover, there are other visual clues that suggest the people in the video may have been military targets.

Claim: A music video features Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dancing in high heels, a cropped top, and skin-tight pants with three other men. Rating: True Context: Zelenskyy was a comic actor before he ran for political office. This video, made in 2014, was a parody of a well-known music video by the Ukrainian boy band Kazaky.

Images of a Ukrainian soldier on the frontline wearing what seems to be an Islamic State (IS) group badge on his arm have taken the internet by storm. Some users and media outlets claim this is evidence of links between the terrorist group and Ukraine. The soldier himself says differently. We tell you what we know so far in this edition of Truth or Fake, with Vedika Bahl.

Construction workers in Ukraine have been working to repair homes damaged by missiles during the country’s war with Russia. Their efforts have been captured by amateur and professional photographers, as well as multiple news organizations. A photo of a reconstructed building is not proof the war is fake. The war is real and has left thousands of civilians dead. Images from professional and amateur photographers captured the repair progress. European Pressphoto Agency published multiple before-and-after images of the building. One montage of images shared on Twitter on Feb. 26, 2023, appears to show the building repairs at different phases. We rate claims that these images prove the war in Ukraine is fake Pants on Fire!

The war in Ukraine has been accompanied by a ferocious battle of disinformation, waged in particular by pro-Russian agitators seeking to distort and shift the blame for many atrocities on the ground. They have sought to depict the Ukrainian side as Nazis or suggest that Western support for Kyiv is evaporating. Here are some of the main narratives, false or misleading, that have been fact-checked over the past year by AFP’s digital verification teams.

Images purporting to show Joe Biden eating ice cream in Ukraine have widely circulated on social media since the US president’s surprise visit to the country on February 20, 2023. But the photos are manipulated; the original pictures show Biden in the US states of Ohio and Oregon.

On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, triggering a ground war, but also an information war online. Since then, the FRANCE 24 Observers team has debunked 115 pieces of fake news shared via online photos and videos. But what are the main themes in these false narratives? What techniques were used to misinform? In this edition of Truth or Fake with Vedika Bahl, we take a look back at one year in fake news.

An image shared widely on social media purports to show a pair of middle fingers directed at Joe Biden after the US president’s speech in Warsaw, Poland. But the picture has been digitally manipulated; the original photo shared by Biden and the White House depicts a thumbs-up gesture in the crowd.

A video showing hundreds of Russian books being shovelled out of trucks, onto the floor and then packed up has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on social media. The scene takes place in Ukraine and has sparked comparisons by pro-Russians to Nazi book-burning. Put into context though, it’s an unfair comparison. We tell you why in this edition of Truth or Fake.

On February 24, 2022, Russia began a full-scale invasion into Ukraine, triggering a war on the ground, but also an information war online. Since then, the FRANCE 24 Observers team has debunked 115 pieces of misinformation that have been shared in photos or videos online. But what are the main themes in these false narratives? And what techniques are used to misinform? Here’s a look back at this year in fake news.

The image in the widespread photo is from a 6-year-old video that showed an old railway in Ohio. It had already been fixed by the time the Feb. 3 derailment happened in East Palestine. The Biden-Harris administration announced plans to help railway infrastructure in Ohio, including managing $4 billion to improve rail safety. A Facebook post said a photo of a dilapidated railroad track shows “what railways in Ohio look like while we send $40 billion to Ukraine.” The image used in the post comes from a 6-year-old video, and that railway has since been fixed. We rate this claim False.

A recent blog post builds on a fictitious narrative that Russian President Vladimir Putin is stymieing the production of adrenochrome in Ukraine…….We found no credible news reports or sources to corroborate the unfounded allegations, which were published on Real Raw News, a site that regularly posts fake news. The blog’s stories are written by someone using a pseudonym and the site has a disclaimer saying it contains “humor, parody and satire,” though the author has defended his stories as truth. The same site wrote separately that Putin intercepted a shipment of adrenochrome bound for the United States. We rated that Pants on Fire!……We rate claims that Putin destroyed an adrenochrome warehouse in Ukraine Pants on Fire!

The war in Ukraine has been accompanied by a ferocious battle of disinformation, waged in particular by pro-Russian agitators seeking to distort and shift the blame for many atrocities on the ground. They have sought to depict the Ukrainian side as Nazis or suggest that Western support for Kyiv is evaporating. Here are some of the main narratives, false or misleading, that have been fact-checked over the past year by AFP’s digital verification teams.

Social media users are claiming a photo from Joe Biden’s surprise trip to Kyiv shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holding his US counterpart’s hand to keep him nearby. This is false; the image has been digitally manipulated to re-position the leaders’ hands, the New York Times photographer who took the picture confirmed to AFP.

Since Thursday, February 16, numerous posts online have featured screenshots of a Danish television report showing a Ukrainian soldier with a patch on his uniform that some are saying means he belongs to the Islamic State organisation. However, there is no clear proof of what this patch represents. The Ukrainian soldier in question has given his own version of events.

President Joe Biden made a surprise trip to Ukraine on Feb. 20, and he was photographed walking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy outside of a monastery in Kyiv. Multiple news outlets have published the picture. But an altered version of the photo is spreading on social media….Biden announced more military aid for Ukraine on the trip, but the image, taken for The New York Times by photographer Daniel Berehulak, is doctored. We rate claims the photo is authentic False.

We found no evidence to corroborate a claim that an audio recording was leaked documenting a private conversation between the presidents. A social media post claims otherwise. We requested to follow the account where the supposed leaked audio of Biden and Zelenskyy was posted but as of publication time, that request hadn’t been granted. However, we searched for news reports and other sources to corroborate this latest post’s claim, and found none. We rate it False.

President Biden did say some U.S. aid to Ukraine could go to social support, like helping with pensions. The viral video clip is from 2022.

Ukrainian refugees are portrayed in some media and social media channels as ungrateful, dangerous and parasitic. DW explains why such propagandist tactics often work – and how to recognize them for what they are.