Category Fact checks / debunkings

Why pro-Russian accounts are sharing a fake video of French farmers and manure

Pro-Russian social media users have been widely circulating what looks like a Euronews report showing French farmers dumping manure outside the Ukrainian embassy. French farmers began protesting for better pay in January and the video claims that the farmers took the drastic manure action after the Ukrainian ambassador penned a letter asking them to stop their protests. But this video is fake. It's one of a series of fake news reports aimed at making Ukraine look bad in the eyes of the West.
Read MoreWhy pro-Russian accounts are sharing a fake video of French farmers and manure

Did Volodymyr Zelensky just belly dance? Sorry, no: it’s a deepfake

Does Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky actually have a secret talent for belly dancing? That's what a number of accounts on Twitter and TikTok are saying, with video to prove it. However, it turns out that the viral video is actually a deepfake that's been circulated by pro-Russian accounts in an attempt to discredit the Ukrainian president.
Read MoreDid Volodymyr Zelensky just belly dance? Sorry, no: it’s a deepfake

FAKE: In Ukraine, women with a chemical education are being recruited for the war to prepare ‘provocations’

The Russian media quotes a Kremlin protege of the people’s militia in the so-called “LPR” that women who have an education in chemistry, biology or veterinary medicine are allegedly being recruited for the war in Ukraine. The publication adds that in this way Ukraine is preparing for “provocations” with chemical weapons. This is a fake. There is no convincing evidence that women are being recruited into the Armed Forces of Ukraine to prepare “provocations” with chemical weapons.
Read MoreFAKE: In Ukraine, women with a chemical education are being recruited for the war to prepare ‘provocations’

FAKE: Military from AFU threatened with a gun a woman with a child because she spoke Russian

Russian media and Telegram channels are distributing a video in which Ukrainian soldiers allegedly stopped a woman with a child because she did not give way to them. As evidence, they provide a segment from the video recorder in the woman’s car. The soldiers then allegedly started yelling at the woman, cursing her, threatening her with guns and shooting in the air because she was speaking to them in Russian. In fact, this video is staged, it was filmed in the occupied territory of the Donetsk region, where there are no Ukrainian troops.
Read MoreFAKE: Military from AFU threatened with a gun a woman with a child because she spoke Russian

FAKE: Only ‘pure-blooded Ukrainians’ can donate blood – photo of the announcement

An alleged announcement from the online service “Doc.ua” is being spread online that from March 1, 2023, the reception of donated blood will be carried out only when the donor is a “pure-blooded Ukrainian”. Foreign citizens are prohibited from being donors. However, the service did not provide such announcements. In Ukraine, ethnicity is not included in the list of criteria for a potential blood donor.
Read MoreFAKE: Only ‘pure-blooded Ukrainians’ can donate blood – photo of the announcement

FAKE: Soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine began to create same-sex unions more often – Zaluzhnyi

A screenshot of the news, which was allegedly published on the Dialog.ua website, is being spread online. It says that Valerii Zaluzhnyi allegedly reported that the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine began to create same-sex unions more often. However, this is a fake. Zaluzhnyi did not make such statements, and there is no such publication on the Dialog.ua website.
Read MoreFAKE: Soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine began to create same-sex unions more often – Zaluzhnyi

Fake Ukrainian Assassination Attempt on Tucker Carlson Hits Millions on X via Russian Disinfo Laundering Scheme

The creators of the disinformation claiming Ukraine plotted to assassinate Tucker Carlson did not intend for it to be used inside Russia: they designed it specifically to target U.S. audiences. That is evident from the fact that no major Russian state-controlled news outlets reported the “breaking news” about the alleged plot despite their weeks-long fixation on every minor detail of Carlson’s visit to Moscow.
Read MoreFake Ukrainian Assassination Attempt on Tucker Carlson Hits Millions on X via Russian Disinfo Laundering Scheme

How Russian flag hoisting signals influence operations in Nigeria

The #EndBadGovernance protest in Nigeria held in August 2024 took a new turn on its third day as some young Nigerians, particularly in the northern part of the country, were seen displaying the Russian flag, a move condemned by the federal government as “treasonable.”
Read MoreHow Russian flag hoisting signals influence operations in Nigeria