A viral photo of a helicopter airlifting a tractor predates Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. An Indian tractor manufacturer posted it on Twitter in November 2020.
The helicopter in the photo is labeled "Indian Air Force." India is not a member of NATO.
Since its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has restricted dissenting voices, independent news reporting and public discourse on social media platforms.
A new law in Russia threatens up to 15 years of prison time for spreading information about the war that authorities consider to be "false."
There are no parallels in the U.S., where freedom of speech, expression and the press are safeguarded by the Constitution. Gabbard alleged censorship by social media companies, but experts say those claims are not supported by evidence.
Our ruling
Gabbard said, "What is happening here is not so different from what we're seeing happening in Russia, where you have got state TV and controlled messaging across the board."
Since its invasion of Ukraine, Russia ' a country with a long history of suppressing free speech and access to information ' has restricted dissenting voices, independent news reporting and public discourse on social media platforms, including with a new law threatening prison time for spreading "false" information about the war. Those measures are without parallel in the U.S., where freedom of speech, expression and the press are enshrined in the Constitution.
We rate Gabbard's claim Pants on Fire!
A West Virginia State Police captain confirmed that the Uber's window decal was an expired inspection sticker from the state. But that doesn't mean that the car itself wasn't in Ukraine.
The video showing the car was recorded in Irpin, Ukraine, according to Reuters, which owns the video.
It's not uncommon for cars to be exported from the U.S. to other countries, including Ukraine.
Our ruling
A Facebook post claimed that "a West Virginia inspection sticker on an Uber" proves the car was not in Ukraine.
A West Virginia State Police Captain confirmed that the decal on the car was an expired sticker from the state. However, this doesn't mean that the car wasn't in Ukraine ' a spokesperson for Reuters, which owns the video, confirmed that the video was filmed there.
It's not uncommon for cars to be exported from the U.S. to other countries, including Ukraine.
We rate this claim False.
Multiple megachurches around the United States have been raising funds to help Ukrainians during Russia's invasion.
Gateway Church, another megachurch in Texas, has set up a crisis relief fund to support people in Ukraine and the surrounding region.
Saddleback Church, a megachurch located in Lake Forest, California, has an advance relief team connecting with local pastors in Ukraine and Poland who are caring for hundreds of Ukrainian refugees. The church's website features ways people can help and has provided multiple updates on its efforts in the region.
The Rock Church, a megachurch in San Diego, California, is directing people to its partner organization, Crisis Response International, and told PolitiFact that it's in the process of establishing a Ukraine relief fund.
Crossroads Church, an Ohio-based megachurch, partners with humanitarian and disaster relief organizations Convoy of Hope and World Vision, which both have operations on the ground in Ukraine.
Other church networks, like the United Methodist Committee on Relief and Catholic Relief Services, are collecting donations and deploying staff and resources.
We rate posts that say no megachurches are raising money for Ukraine relief False.
Col. Oleksandr "Grey Wolf" Oksanchenko, a decorated Ukrainian pilot, was killed in combat on Feb. 25.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded him posthumously with the title of Hero of Ukraine, along with 11 other military service members.
Unconfirmed reports hold that an unidentified pilot, who has come to be called the "Ghost of Kyiv," downed six Russian planes on the first day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. We do not find evidence that this was Oksanchenko.
It's uncertain how the Ghost of Kyiv tale originated, but we know that Ukraine's military reported on Feb. 24 that at least six Russian planes and two helicopters had been downed. Crediting Ukrainian military, CNN and NBC soon reported five Russian planes and one helicopter had been shot down. Russia's defense ministry denied the report, according to Reuters, and said that Ukraine's air force defenses had been "suppressed."
Ukraine's official Twitter account, meanwhile, promoted the Ghost of Kyiv narrative with a video that suggested the mystery pilot could have been responsible for as many as 10 downed Russian aircraft by Feb. 26. That video, too, included footage from a video game.
PolitiFact did not receive a response from Zelensky's administration about Oksanchenko and the Ghost of Kyiv claim.
Finding no conclusive information tying Oksanchenko to the Ghost of Kyiv, we rate this claim False.
China's government is amplifying debunked claims about non-existent U.S. biological weapons labs in Ukraine, bringing the falsehoods back into the spotlight on social media.
Our ruling
A spokesperson for the Chinese government said the U.S. has biolabs in Ukraine.
The claim originated with the Russian government and has been previously debunked by U.S. government officials and weapons control advocates. Following Zhao's March 9 remarks, U.S. government officials strongly refuted the claims again, saying the false narrative was being used to lay the groundwork for further violence in Ukraine.
Several megachurches in the U.S. are actively raising funds to support Ukrainians in light of the Russian invasion. But social media posts have falsely claimed that “we haven’t seen a single American mega church offer anything to the Ukrainians.”
A video from 2019 showing Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been circulating recently with the false claim that it shows Putin meeting with the South Korean president.
A story that claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin bombed a villa in Ukraine owned by President Joe Biden is bogus. It was created by a misinformation website that regularly publishes made-up stories. We found no evidence that Biden has a villa in Ukraine.
Claims about nefarious biolabs in Ukraine ' some supposedly "U.S. owned" ' are also fabricated, and part of disinformation efforts by Russians.
It's unclear what the blog is talking about in its reference to "pedophile rings," but it claims that Putin is wiping out "child trafficking covens" in Ukraine, and we found no evidence that these exist.
No legal agreement prohibits NATO from expanding eastward.
Russians have argued that comments made by U.S. and other Western leaders during the negotiations over the reunification of Germany constituted a promise that NATO would not extend beyond then-East Germany. Those allegations have sparked decades of debate amongst those involved in the events, and scholars studying them.
Even scholars who say they believe western powers did offer the Soviet Union assurances about NATO expansion say Owens' claim is misleading.
Our ruling
Owens said, "NATO (under direction from the United States) is violating previous agreements and expanding eastward."
There is an ongoing historical debate over comments that Western leaders, including Baker, made during post-Cold War negotiations, and whether what they said amounted to assurances that NATO would refrain from welcoming in countries closer to modern-day Russia.
But NATO as an organization made no such pledge, and the formal agreement signed at the end of those negotiations said nothing about the alliance not expanding eastward.
We rate this claim Mostly False.
