Category Italy

Fact Check: Italian PM Meloni Did NOT Say ‘If Russia Does Not Agree To The Terms Of The Peace Summit, We Will Force It To Surrender’ | Lead Stories

Did Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni say, "If Russia does not agree to the terms of the peace summit, we will force it to surrender"? No, that's not true: The comments attributed to her come from a falsified Russian translation of what she said in English at the Ukraine Peace Summit held in Switzerland in June 2024. While Meloni has strongly criticized Russia's invasion of Ukraine, no credible sources report her saying that Russia should be forced to surrender.

Read MoreFact Check: Italian PM Meloni Did NOT Say ‘If Russia Does Not Agree To The Terms Of The Peace Summit, We Will Force It To Surrender’ | Lead Stories

DISINFO: The EU struck by the virus of fascism on the eve of the elections

Pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative targeting the upcoming European Parliament elections. This narrative also accuses the EU of Nazism. Both claims were made in the context of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The widespread Russian accusations of "Nazism" against European states is a tool of political pressure, since Russia itself is trying to justify its aggression against Ukraine with the mythical need to "denazify" Ukraine. The UN has repeatedly emphasised that Russia's actions seriously undermine the genuine attempts of the world community in the fight against neo-Nazism.

Read MoreDISINFO: The EU struck by the virus of fascism on the eve of the elections

Fake: US Consulate in Milan Publishes Post with Ukraine and Nazi Germany Flags

Employees of the US consulate in Milan never published a Twitter post with
the flags of Ukraine and Nazi Germany. The consulate's Twitter account was
hacked. After regaining control over the account, the hacked post was
deleted.

Read MoreFake: US Consulate in Milan Publishes Post with Ukraine and Nazi Germany Flags

This clip shows a climate protest in Italy, not Ukrainian protesters in Spain

A video clip of motorists angrily dragging away demonstrators who were blocking a highway has been viewed tens of thousands of times in online posts that claim it shows Ukrainian anti-war protesters obstructing traffic in Spain. This is false: the clip was filmed in a highway in the Italian capital Rome. The group that staged the protest told AFP it showed a climate demonstration unrelated to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Read MoreThis clip shows a climate protest in Italy, not Ukrainian protesters in Spain

Fake: Ukrainian Refugees Brawl on Italian Highway

Ukrainians were not involved in any way in the video that was published by Russian propagandists showing protesters blocking traffic. It was not Ukrainians who were blocking the road to traffic, but local environmental activists from the Extinction Rebellion organization.

Read MoreFake: Ukrainian Refugees Brawl on Italian Highway

Doctored Italian TV screenshot shared to discredit Ukraine war coverage

An image comparing what appears to be an Italian television network's coverage of the war in Ukraine to a shot from a movie has spread online in posts claiming the media is lying about Russia's invasion. But the network's parent company rejected the claim, a word is missing from the TGCOM24 logo used in the posts, and AFP found no evidence of the footage being broadcast on the channel.

Read MoreDoctored Italian TV screenshot shared to discredit Ukraine war coverage