Category Hatred and bigotry

FACT CHECK: Did This Satirical Magazine Feature An Image Of Zelenskyy Stealing From Jesus? | Check Your Fact

Verdict: False The image is digitally fabricated. There is no evidence that Charlie Hebdo published this cover.
Read MoreFACT CHECK: Did This Satirical Magazine Feature An Image Of Zelenskyy Stealing From Jesus? | Check Your Fact

Five fact-checks about the war in Ukraine

Russia's invasion of Ukraine this year kept our fact-checkers very busy. We wrote 92 articles debunking false claims about information related to the war. These ranged from claims the Bucha massacre was staged to false TV reports and accusations of Nazism among Ukrainians. To mark the end of the year, we made a list of some of our top fact-checks about Ukraine.
Read MoreFive fact-checks about the war in Ukraine

No, Ukrainian fans were not responsible for Nazi graffiti at the World Cup

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.
Read MoreNo, Ukrainian fans were not responsible for Nazi graffiti at the World Cup

Video claiming to be Al Jazeera report about ‘drunk Ukrainians’ at World Cup is fake

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."
Read MoreVideo claiming to be Al Jazeera report about ‘drunk Ukrainians’ at World Cup is fake

No, the Ukrainian president did not write a book called ‘Mein Kampf’

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.
Read MoreNo, the Ukrainian president did not write a book called ‘Mein Kampf’

Photo of Zelenskyy holding a jersey with a swastika was altered

This photo was altered. In the original, Zelenskyy is holding a jersey that has the number 95, not a swastika. The original image was distributed by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service in June 2021. According to a caption on Agence France-Presse's website, it shows him "posing with a jersey of Ukraine's national football team." Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has pushed the idea that the effort is one of "denazification," a narrative historians have decried as "false and destructive." We rate claims Zelenskyy was holding a jersey with a swastika False.
Read MorePhoto of Zelenskyy holding a jersey with a swastika was altered

No, this Ukrainian general isn’t wearing a bracelet with a swastika on it

Did the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces publish a photo of himself wearing a bracelet with a swastika on it? That"s what some Russian media outlets and pro-Russian social media accounts have been reporting since October 9, 2022. While the photo is authentic, the compression of the image and the poor resolution quality make it possible to mistake the symbol on his bracelet for the Nazi cross. In reality, however, it is a Celtic knot.
Read MoreNo, this Ukrainian general isn’t wearing a bracelet with a swastika on it

No, these people with Nazi tattoos are not Ukrainian refugees

A new hoax has been targeting Ukrainian refugees. These two men covered in Nazi tattoos, wearing beach shorts, have been presented as Ukrainian refugees in Croatia by pro-Russian Twitter accounts. In reality, the images show Hungarian members of a neo-Nazi group.
Read MoreNo, these people with Nazi tattoos are not Ukrainian refugees

No, the Ukrainian colors were not added to an official pride flag

An image of a flag that incorporated the Ukrainian colors originated as satire. This particular image isn't affiliated with any official LGBTQ organizations. Snopes reported that Dublin's LGBTQ Pride Festival designed a flyer that used a different image of a flag that incorporated Ukrainian colors as a signal of welcome displaced Ukrainian refugees. Our ruling Greene and others shared an image that showed the pride flag altered to incorporate the colors of the Ukrainian flag as if it were real. This isn't a genuine flag used by the LGBTQ community. It originated as satire. We rate this False
Read MoreNo, the Ukrainian colors were not added to an official pride flag