Latest fact checks & sources

Since February, several Facebook and Twitter accounts versed in disinformation have been regularly sharing impressive videos purporting to show the war in Ukraine. But these viral images actually come from a video game called Arma 3. How can you spot these realistic spoofs that have even fooled international media? In this episode, the Truth or Fake team asks Pavel Křižka, representative of Bohemia Interactive, the company that developed Arma 3.

When asked whether Republicans would “make it more difficult” for Congress to approve Ukrainian aid, Rep. Mike Turner criticized the $40 billion package enacted in May, saying: “We don’t need to pass $40 billion large Democrat bills … to send $8 billion to Ukraine.” Much more than that, however, was allocated for military support.

Has the entire Ukrainian territory been plunged into darkness due to Russian bombing? That’s what some people on social networks have been saying since November 23, while sharing what appears to be an aerial photograph of Europe. While millions of Ukrainians have indeed lost power, this image has been manipulated using a photo that dates back to 2012.

According to the most recent weekly data, the cost of a gallon of gasoline is $3.53. That’s exactly the same as it was just days before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Our ruling Biden said, “Gas prices are down back to where they were before Russia invaded Ukraine.” Gas prices didn’t start increasing with the onset of the war, but the most recent weekly price data shows the cost of a gallon of gasoline at $3.53, which is exactly the same as it was just days before Russia invaded Ukraine. We rate the statement True.

A satellite photo of Europe being shared on social media appears to show a complete blackout in Ukraine. But the power outages, albeit extensive, are not total. The photo has been manipulated – we explain how in this edition of Truth or Fake.

Four photos being shared on social media of a woman having war wound makeup applied to her face and body are from a medic training exercise in 2016. At least one of the images was posted by an Instagram user whose profile describes her as a combat medic in Ukraine. The same woman appears in three of the photos. A Twitter user with the same handle as the Instagram user tweeted Nov. 25 that “enemy propagandists” stole her photos from the 2016 training sessions to misrepresent them. Allegations that images showing war devastation in Ukraine were staged have been shared on social media since Russia invaded the country in February. We’ve debunked multiple claims about photos, including a false one that said a teacher injured on the first day of the war was a crisis actor. Our ruling An Instagram post claims that photos of war wound makeup being applied to a woman are fake combat photos, implying the violence in Ukraine isn’t real. But the photos can be traced to an Instagram user who described herself as a combat medic veteran. She shared at least one of the images on Instagram in 2016. A woman with the same handle on Twitter wrote that the photos were from training sessions and were being misrepresented by “enemy propagandists.” There is no evidence the photos were staged to show an injury from the current battle in Ukraine. We rate the claim False. UPDATE, Dec. 1, 5:30 p.m. ET: The story was updated Dec. 1 to add the response from an Instagram user received after publication of this article.

Numerous accounts on Twitter and Telegram have been sharing a video they say is a report by Al Jazeera showing Nazi graffiti left by Ukrainian football fans during the kickoff game of the World Cup in Qatar on November 20. The media outlet, however, says that they didn”t make this video. Moreover, a number of clues have allowed us to establish that this is a fake news report and that the Nazi graffiti was, in fact, photoshopped.

A video report attributed to broadcaster Al Jazeera has been circulating online, claiming that drunken Ukrainian football fans were detained at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar for giving a Nazi salute and defacing posters with a Hitler moustache. But all is not as it seems, so what’s true and what’s fake? Find out in this edition with Vedika Bahl.

An Al Jazeera spokesperson told VERIFY in an email: “The video in question is completely fake and Al Jazeera never published this or any other material related to it.”

A viral video on social media allegedly shows President Volodymyr Zelensky dancing with a rocket launcher, as the war in Ukraine drags into its ninth month. The man in the video is actually a parody actor, not the real Zelensky. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.

No, there isn’t any evidence that FTX laundered U.S. aid money sent to Ukraine back to Democratic lawmakers.

The bankruptcy of FTX, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has sparked an unfounded claim that its former CEO had conspired with Ukraine and Democratic politicians to launder U.S. aid money. FTX helped make crypto donations available to Ukraine; it wasn’t taking any assets from Ukraine.

An article shared thousands of times on social media claims FTX, a now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, funneled US aid meant for Ukraine to Democratic candidates running in the midterm elections instead. This is unproven; public records show no evidence supporting the allegation, which Kyiv, the Pentagon, FTX partners and experts have said is inaccurate.

Some users on social media are sharing images that allegedly show debris of the S-300 air defence missile that killed two people in Poland this Tuesday. But one of the images being shared is actually from projectile remains found in Dagestan in October 2020. We tell you which images to look out for in this edition of Truth or Fake.

The claim that funds were effectively “laundered” from Ukraine via FTX back into the U.S., less so to the Democratic party coffers or Biden himself, is unevidenced. Newsweek has investigated the coverage of this claim across social media and larger media outlets and could find no transaction ID, statements, or any other tangible evidence to support the idea that U.S. funding or crypto donations were washed back to the Democratic Party, through a Ukrainian investment in FTX or otherwise. The claim does not acknowledge the auditing and scrutiny that U.S. foreign aid receives to ensure that it is spent appropriately on measures relating to Ukrainian assistance.

A video viewed tens of thousands of times on social media has been falsely shared as showing Ukrainian troops attacking Russian tanks with US-made Javelin anti-tank missiles. While the missiles are among armaments sent by the United States and Western countries to Ukraine after Russia’s invasion in February 2022, the clip in fact shows footage from the video game ARMA 3.

Verdict: False Visual evidence shows the Russian military left equipment behind in the area. Experts and open-source intelligence (OSINT) accounts that track the conflict said the claim was false.

FTX, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, announced on Nov. 11 it had filed for bankruptcy. Sam Bankman-Fried resigned as the company’s CEO. He is a large donor to Democrats, but has also given to Republicans. FTX partnered with a fundraising site called Aid for Ukraine, where people can donate cryptocurrency to help the country’s war effort. FTX’s role in the project was to facilitate the conversion of cryptocurrency into regular currency. There’s no evidence that U.S. aid money sent to Ukraine was then used to invest in FTX. Most U.S. aid doesn’t go directly to the Ukrainian government, but rather through third parties like contractors or humanitarian groups. Our ruling An Instagram post claimed that U.S. aid money sent to Ukraine is being funneled back in the form of campaign contributions to Democrats through the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX. FTX’s former CEO was a large donor to Democrats, but has also given to Republicans. The company’s connection to Ukraine was partnering with a fundraising site called Aid to Ukraine that allows people to donate cryptocurrency for the country’s war effort. That money was then transferred to the Ukrainian government, not the other way around. There is no evidence to support the claim. We rate this False. Update, Nov. 16, 2022: This story was updated to include statements from the U.S. State Department, the United States Agency for International Development and Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation that were received after publication. It also clarifies the job title for Alex Bornyakov. The rating is unchanged.

Claim: Ukrainian refugees are given priority. DW fact check: True

Verdict: False The U.K. has not suspended their funding to Ukraine. U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has repeatedly affirmed his support for Ukraine.