Category Fact checks / debunkings

Posts Misquote Biden’s Year-Old Remarks on Tanks for Ukraine

Posts Misquote Biden’s Year-Old Remarks on Tanks for Ukraine

President Joe Biden announced on Jan. 25 that the U.S. would provide Ukraine with 31 tanks. After the announcement, a meme on social media misquoted Biden’s remarks from March 2022, suggesting he said that sending tanks to Ukraine would cause World War III. Biden said sending weapons “with American pilots and American crews” would cause a world war.
Read MorePosts Misquote Biden’s Year-Old Remarks on Tanks for Ukraine
Have Over 150K Ukraine Troops Been Killed in Russia Conflict?

Have Over 150K Ukraine Troops Been Killed in Russia Conflict?

Unverified. The figures quoted in Twitter come from a Turkish website that does not link to its sources, nor does it provide any other authenticated evidence. The claim that it received its data from Israeli security services is also highly dubious. While we cannot verify the actual number of soldiers killed on either side of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the estimates quoted in the tweet and the article do not match anywhere near the figures cited by Western intelligence services and senior officials.
Read MoreHave Over 150K Ukraine Troops Been Killed in Russia Conflict?
Has Ukraine Banned 19 Million Russian Books From its Libraries?

Has Ukraine Banned 19 Million Russian Books From its Libraries?

The tweet suggests that all 19 million books have been banned, which the details of this story do not clarify. It may also imply incorrectly that only books by Russian authors or about Russia are being removed. Although books such as these may well be removed, the tweet does not summarize the details of this story, or lack thereof, correctly.
Read MoreHas Ukraine Banned 19 Million Russian Books From its Libraries?
Did Zelensky Order Destruction of Docs Linked to Hunter Biden?

Did Zelensky Order Destruction of Docs Linked to Hunter Biden?

False. The tenuous link between Hunter Biden, Rosemont Seneca, Metabiota, and the Ukrainian government notwithstanding, the "letter" from the Ukrainian government has been debunked. The letter, which was circulated on Russian social media in 2022, was littered with mistakes that indicated it was translated to Ukrainian from Russian.
Read MoreDid Zelensky Order Destruction of Docs Linked to Hunter Biden?

NATO and U.S. troops and trainers have not died in Ukraine war

There are no NATO troops or trainers in Ukraine, and no NATO personnel have been killed in Ukraine since Russia's invasion in February 2022, NATO said. The U.S. has sent troops to countries surrounding Ukraine that are NATO members, but the U.S. has not sent troops into Ukraine. The Pentagon announced in December that Ukrainian troops would travel to a U.S. base in Grafenwöhr, Germany for military training from soldiers from the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Command's 7th Army Training Command. It's unclear how many Russian or Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded so far. U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in January that Russia alone has had more than 100,000 killed or wounded. We rate the claim that in Ukraine, 2,458 NATO soldiers and 234 NATO military trainers have died, some of whom are from the U.S., Pants on Fire!
Read MoreNATO and U.S. troops and trainers have not died in Ukraine war
U.S. Spent Much More in Afghan War Than in Support for Ukraine So Far, Contrary to Online Claim

U.S. Spent Much More in Afghan War Than in Support for Ukraine So Far, Contrary to Online Claim

The U.S. spent more than $849 billion in the 20-year war in Afghanistan and has spent about $113 billion to support Ukraine since Russia invaded in 2022. But a video on social media falsely claims that the aid for Ukraine is “double the U.S. expenditure for its own war in Afghanistan.”
Read MoreU.S. Spent Much More in Afghan War Than in Support for Ukraine So Far, Contrary to Online Claim
Did Biden Say Sending Tanks to Ukraine Would Cause World War 3?

Did Biden Say Sending Tanks to Ukraine Would Cause World War 3?

In March 2022, Biden said the supply of tanks and other equipment with—crucially— American troops on the ground would amount to what he described as "World War 3". While the arrival of M1-Abrams tanks to Ukraine is new, the U.S. has funded the upgrade and supply of Soviet-era tanks to Kyiv.
Read MoreDid Biden Say Sending Tanks to Ukraine Would Cause World War 3?

Tweets distort Biden’s comments on tanks, Ukraine and World War III

President Joe Biden announced on Jan. 25, 2023, that the U.S. is sending 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. Earlier in the war, almost a year ago, Biden said, "The idea that we're going to send in offensive equipment and have planes and tanks and trains going in with American pilots and American crews, just understand … that's called 'World War III.'" A widely shared meme shortened Biden's quote to make it appear as if he said sending tanks alone to Ukraine would cause World War III. A meme shared in a tweet claimed that in March, Biden said, "The idea that we're going to send in tanks to Ukraine, that's called World War III." Biden announced the U.S. will be sending M1 Abrams tanks about 10 months later. The quote is edited to leave out the full context of Biden's comments. He said the U.S. would not be sending offensive equipment and planes, tanks and trains with U.S. pilots and crews. We rate the claim False.
Read MoreTweets distort Biden’s comments on tanks, Ukraine and World War III