Category International community

DISINFO: The Polish special services fabricated documents against the Polish judge for his pro-peace position

This message is a part of a wider narrative about the lack of democracy in Western countries, in this case, it promotes the idea that an "aggressive" Poland persecutes its citizens for their political views.

No evidence is provided to support this claim.

This claim was made in connection with the accusations and statements of the Polish Judge Tomasz Szmydt, who ran away to Belarus on 9 May 2024 seeking "political asylum" in this country. In Poland, he is under the suspicion of espionage in favour of Belarus and was stripped of his immunity.

Read MoreDISINFO: The Polish special services fabricated documents against the Polish judge for his pro-peace position

DISINFO: The Polish, American, British and Ukrainian secret services may hunt the Polish run-away judge down

This message is a part of a wider narrative about the lack of democracy in Western countries, in this case, it promotes the idea that "aggressive" Poland and other democratic countries order political murders of the run-away "dissidents".

No evidence is provided to support this claim, which is part of a classic "whataboutism" along the line "you blame me for bad things, but you do the same yourself". It is a whataboutism attempt to deflect attentiona away from Russia's assignations made in UK (like Alexander Litvinenko), Germany (the Tiergarden murder) and other attempts on political opponent such as former rusisan agent Sergei Skripal, and his daughter Yulia which were targeted with a Novichok chemical nerve critical in Salisbury, UK.

This claim was made in connection with the accusations and statements of the Polish Judge Tomasz Szmydt, who ran away to Belarus on 9 May 2024 seeking "political asylum" in this country. In Poland, he is under the suspicion of espionage in favour of Belarus and was stripped of his immunity.

Read MoreDISINFO: The Polish, American, British and Ukrainian secret services may hunt the Polish run-away judge down

DISINFO: International law expert Polish judge Tomasz Szmydt assesses Ukraine’s war crimes

False claim made in connection with the case of Polish Judge Tomasz Szmydt, who fled to Belarus seeking "political asylum". For several months, he was observed by the Polish special services who suspected him of espionage in favour of Belarus and Russia.

Tomasz Szmydt is not an expert in International Public Law and has limited professional authority to accuse Ukraine of war crimes (see previous accusations in our database).

In 2019, as explained by DW: "Szmydt made headlines when he was identified as being a member of a group of judges waging a smear campaign on social media against other judges"

Read MoreDISINFO: International law expert Polish judge Tomasz Szmydt assesses Ukraine’s war crimes

Fact Check: Putin Defends Hitler’s Invasion of Poland in Carlson Interview

True.

Based on a Russian transcript of Vladimir Putin's interview with Tucker Carlson, Newsweek verified Putin said Adolf Hitler was "forced" to invade Poland, an inaccurate interpretation of the circumstances leading to World War II.

While translations do not use the word "forced" or "compelled", they broadly match its meaning.

Read MoreFact Check: Putin Defends Hitler’s Invasion of Poland in Carlson Interview

Fact Check: Video doesn’t show migrants fleeing Russia after Putin citizenship offer | Reuters

Posts on social media shared the video suggesting migrants were fleeing so as not to be sent to the warfront. A post on social media platform X reads, "Putin threatened to send all illegal Chinese immigrants to the front lines in Ukraine. Airports saw a sudden rush of flights back to China." Screenshots from the video were also shared on Facebook.

The video, however, can be traced back to at least Dec. 30, 2023, when it was posted on Douyin, the Chinese counterpart of TikTok, as showing people traveling from Russia for New Year. The same user says in the description of a different video of the same location that it shows Heihe river port in China.

Read MoreFact Check: Video doesn’t show migrants fleeing Russia after Putin citizenship offer | Reuters

Fact Check: German magazine Titanic ‘s cover on celebrating Christmas in Ukraine is fake | Reuters

German satirical magazine Titanic did not publish a Christmas-themed cover depicting the severed legs of four Ukrainian soldiers hanging over a fireplace, and an image of this circulating online is fake, the editor-in-chief of the publication said to Reuters. [...]

VERDICT: False. No such cover was published by German satirical magazine Titanic.

Read MoreFact Check: German magazine Titanic ‘s cover on celebrating Christmas in Ukraine is fake | Reuters

Fact Check: Orban Did NOT Tell Zelenskyy In Argentina: ‘Putin Knows Something Special About Me’ | Lead Stories

Did Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban tell Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at the inauguration of Javier Milei as Argentina's new president, that Russian President Vladimir Putin knew something "special" about him? No, that's not true: Orban and Zelenskyy exchanged a few words in front of cameras during the ceremony, as shown by footage shared by major international media. Their conversation, though, cannot be heard. According to the Hungarian Prime Minister's press office and a post on X by Zelenskyy, the two leaders discussed European affairs. [...]

The video is dubbed: The words spoken in the TikTok audio don't match the movement of Orban's lips as shown in the footage.

Read MoreFact Check: Orban Did NOT Tell Zelenskyy In Argentina: ‘Putin Knows Something Special About Me’ | Lead Stories

Lloyd Austin was not killed in Ukraine on Jan. 3 | Fact check

The claim: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was killed in Ukraine on Jan. 3.
Our rating: False

Austin is alive. [...] Austin resumed his full duties as secretary of defense on Jan. 5 and released a statement on Jan. 6. The report comes from a publication that routinely publishes fabricated stories.

Read MoreLloyd Austin was not killed in Ukraine on Jan. 3 | Fact check

Fact Check: DeSantis on aid to Ukraine

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis argued against further US funding for Ukraine by saying that "tens of billions of dollars" have been used "to pay salaries for Ukrainian government bureaucrats," and that US taxpayers have "paid pensions for Ukrainian retirees."

Facts First: This needs context. [...]
The money, which is disbursed through the World Bank, has gone to pay "wages for hospital workers, government employees, and teachers as well as social assistance for the elderly and vulnerable." [...] It has also been provided to the Ukrainian government to "supply emergency services for internally displaced persons."

Read MoreFact Check: DeSantis on aid to Ukraine