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.
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.
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!
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.
A screenshot of a Gettr post critical of U.S. foreign aid to Ukraine has been attributed to Kid Rock, but it originated on a fan account.
We couldn't find a Gettr account for Kid Rock, and it's not listed among the social media accounts on his website. Kid Rock's website links to his YouTube account and his verified Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts.
We've previously debunked claims that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy owns a $35 million home in Florida. We couldn't find any credible sources to corroborate the claim in this Gettr post, either.
As for the claim that Kid Rock authored it, we rate that False.
When the Instagram post was shared, Congress was considering legislation that included $20 million in funding for Jackson, Mississippi's water infrastructure. The legislation passed Sept. 30.
Much more funding will be needed to completely address the problems in Jackson.
Our ruling
An Instagram post says Ukraine got $12 billion more in funding but Jackson, Mississippi, has not received any.
At the time the Instagram post was shared, Congress was considering legislation to provide money to both Ukraine and Jackson. The legislation passed Sept. 30 and was signed into law the same day, allocating $20 million to Jackson for its infrastructure.
Much more funding will be needed to fully address the city's problems. But though the city might not have the money in hand yet because the funding was just approved, it's misleading to say the city was completely ignored.
The claim contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate it Mostly False.
Verdict: Misleading
Several costs estimates are inaccurate
Online articles and social media posts claim US-funded labs in Ukraine are developing biological warfare weapons, saying this is part of the justification for the Russian attack on its eastern European neighbor. But former US officials and non-proliferation experts say the labs are working to detect and prevent the spread of bioweapons, and have also helped in containing disease outbreaks.
The U.S. has spent $53 billion on aid to Ukraine as part of a bipartisan effort to oppose Russia's invasion of the fledgling democracy.
More than $3 billion goes toward U.S. schools safety equipment and personnel every year, according to market research analysis and federal figures.
Researchers largely agree that armed officers at K-12 schools do not prevent mass shootings or other gun-related incidents from happening.
Instead, experts recommend threat assessment programs to help school staff identify behavioral warning signs among students and intervene to provide support before violent incidents occur.
Our ruling
A Facebook post claimed that with the $53 billion spent in Ukraine aid, the U.S. "could pay five SWAT members $80,000 each and have them at EVERY school front door."
The U.S. has allocated about $53 billion in aid to Ukraine. And if one wanted to pay this amount to station five SWAT members at every public and private K-12 school in the country, it would also add up to about $53 billion over one year.
But that statement alone lacks context about current security funding for schools and what research shows about the effect of such measures.
More than $2.7 billion is already spent each year on school safety equipment and services nationwide. And this $53 billion, if spent as the claim suggested, would cover just one year of SWAT team coverage for schools.
Additionally, research shows that the presence of armed officers on campuses does not help prevent school shootings from happening.
We rate this claim Half True.
Russian media and social media users allege that the Red Cross is involved in children's organ trafficking. There is absolutely no evidence to support these allegations in the videos used to make these charges
