Latest fact checks & sources

Images circulating on social media from a Ukrainian film production do not prove that Ukraine is staging the war, but neither do they prove “Russian illiteracy”. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.

Verdict: False This image is digitally fabricated. A spokesperson for Time Magazine confirmed in an email to Check Your Fact that the image is not an authentic cover.

We debunk false claims circulating online that Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky has written and will be releasing a book with the same title as Adolf Hitler’s infamous manifesto. Vedika Bahl has all the details in this edition of Truth or Fake.

Is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky the author of a new book entitled “Mein Kampf”, or “My Struggle”, using the same graphic design as Adolf Hitler’s manifesto? This is what many people online have been claiming to be the case since October 19, 2022. But the photos they use as proof are actually just photoshopped using old images. While the Ukrainian president is indeed preparing to release a book, it has a totally different title and cover design.

False. As attested by a number of experts and published authors on modern Chinese history, the claim in Kim Dotcom’s tweet that modern China has initiated zero conflicts is false. The People’s Republic of China has started a number of conflicts, trained revolutionaries, and contributed to other conflicts in Asia. It appears that the “no conflicts” claim was made by Xi Jinping in 2021.

We found the March 1 story on Cinch News. Other headlines on the site were suspicious ‘ “It’s time to abolish gendered days,” for example. A “Why” section confirmed Cinch is “a satirical publication.” We rate claims that this is a real news story False.

On a largely bipartisan basis, Congress has approved about $66 billion in assistance to Ukraine since it was invaded by Russia in February 2022. • Proposals supported by President Joe Biden that won the support of only Democrats in Congress allocated $482 billion on behalf of U.S. children in 2021. • One of the efforts from Democrats ‘ an expansion of the child tax credit that was included in Biden’s American Rescue Plan of 2021 ‘ paid out $92 billion to U.S. families with children, or 1.5 times the amount that the U.S. has spent so far on Ukraine. Our ruling A Citizens for Sanity ad said that Biden and Democrats “send a fortune to Ukraine but nothing for our children.” On a largely bipartisan basis, Congress has approved roughly $66 billion in assistance to Ukraine. By comparison, proposals supported by Biden and that won support of only Democrats in Congress spent $482 billion on behalf of U.S. children in 2021. The child tax credit expansion alone paid out $92 billion to U.S. families with children, or 1.5 times the amount the U.S. has spent so far on the war in Ukraine. We rate the statement Pants on Fire!

A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.

While the Pentagon briefing of the news media highlights the most direct role American personnel have played within Ukraine, to call it “boots on the ground” is an overstatement. The team will be weapons experts with the aim of keeping tabs on the U.S.-supplied arms in an operation that does not involve American soldiers fighting alongside Ukrainian forces. The inspectors will not be near the frontline, the Pentagon said.

Since the Russian war in Ukraine began, misinformation has been spreading widely. And one of the narratives we’ve seen again and again is the idea that Ukraine has been “staging” atrocities to sway public opinion in Western media outlets. Here’s a closer look at three videos we’ve seen and debunked.

False. Jamie Raskin did not say that the U.S. should try to destroy Russia nor that America should engage in jihad against the country’s “Christian…traditional values.” Posts on Russian social media and Twitter have incorrectly taken Carlson’s words as a verbatim quote from Raskin.

False. The claim that Lapin’s body was discovered in a river is unsubstantiated. The original reports were based on a misleading tweet and were later retracted. While there are numerous and, so far, unverified reports, including those from by pro-Kremlin outlets, suggesting that Lapin resigned or was removed from his command, there is no evidence to suggest that he is no longer alive.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has published photos purporting to prove that Ukraine is building a dirty bomb. In truth, the photos are of entirely different things – including reactors in Russia.

The dogs in the photo were pictured lined up near a feeding station in Kramatorsk, as confirmed by photos and film clips taken by volunteers in the city. While there have been other recorded instances of dogs queueing, they were often highly trained. It’s not clear whether these dogs were patiently waiting their turns or it was simply a well-timed photo, but the image is deeply heart-warming nonetheless.

True. Konstantin Yaroshenko was convicted in 2011 for his involvement in a major drug smuggling operation. It is also true that he was part of a prisoner exchange that also included Trevor Reed, a former U.S. marine. In October 2022, Yaroshenko was indeed appointed to civic office by the Russian president’s decree, having earlier expressed an interest in “human rights advocacy” and “social work.”

Ukraine is apparently in the process of developing a so-called dirty bomb – a bomb containing radioactive elements – or, at least, that’s the narrative that Moscow has been peddling since October 23, 2022. The Russian Ministry of Defence posted these claims to Telegram and Twitter, along with illustrated documents meant to support these claims. But the images published in these documents are old and some of them were even taken in Russia.

Ukraine does not have a nuclear bomb or a “dirty bomb,” according to experts and watchdogs. The country used to have Soviet-era nuclear weapons but returned them to Russia after the Soviet Union collapsed. Ukraine also dismantled or destroyed its nuclear missiles and silos. Its nuclear materials are now used for peaceful purposes. Experts and watchdogs say Ukraine has neither a nuclear bomb nor a “dirty bomb.” Ukraine used to have nuclear weapons but it transferred them to Russia after the Soviet Union collapsed and dismantled or destroyed its nuclear missiles and silos. The nation’s nuclear materials are now used for peaceful purposes. We rate the post False.

The images in the graphic, shared by the Russian Ministry of Defence, are not of a Ukrainian dirty bomb facility or evidence of the creation of a dirty bomb. Some are photos of Russian and Siberian research facilities. Another, according to the Slovenian government, is from a 2010 Radioactive Waste Management presentation by a Slovenian non-profit. One of the images has been used several times over on different websites since 2010.

Several Thai posts have shared a misleading claim that the Finnish government advised its citizens to urgently buy iodine tablets after an escalation of the war in Ukraine. It circulated in October 2022 after the Nordic country updated its guidelines on the use of iodine in case of a radiation hazard. A government official told AFP that events in Ukraine would not compromise radiation safety in Finland. They added that their guidelines aim to ensure there is protection for the most vulnerable in case of an emergency resulting from a nuclear reactor accident, as they are heavily dependent on nuclear power.

Russia recently accused Ukraine of fabricating a “dirty bomb”. These allegations were made on official Kremlin Telegram and Twitter accounts, accompanied by explanatory slides that seemed to implicitly support their claims. However, we found that many of the images are unrelated to the accusations. For example, some of the images presented as Ukrainian nuclear plants are actually Russian nuclear facilities. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.