Category International community

No credible reports indicate that Starlink was used in Russian ship attack

• There are no credible government or media reports that indicate the Starlink satellite service was used to facilitate the attack on the Russian ship Moskva.

• The Russian government did not order the destruction of the Starlink satellite service. That claim originated on a fraudulent website falsely identifying itself as the official website of a Russian political party.

Our ruling
A Facebook post says, "Space X's Starlink internet constellation has angered Russia as it was reported that the Starlink satellite constellation was used to guide the fire" on the Russian ship Moskva.

But there are no credible government or media reports that indicate the Starlink service was involved in the attack on Moskva. The claim that a Russian official ordered the destruction of the Starlink satellite service originated on a fraudulent website.

We rate this claim False.

FACT CHECK: No, The Rothschild Family Does Not Own Reuters And The Associated Press | Check Your Fact

Verdict: False
There is no evidence the Rothschild family owns Reuters or AP. Reuters is owned by the Thomson Corporation and the AP is a non-profit cooperative formed by various newspapers and broadcasters.

Fake: Ukrainian Officials Sell Javelins to Hamas and Hezbollah Militantsï¿¼

There is absolutely no evidence that substantiates information disseminated online that Ukraine sold high precision weapons to Islamists under the guise of "surplus". Lists of military equipment that Ukraine sells abroad are published in the public domain. There are no Javelins on the list.

April 27, 2022
Fact checks / debunkings Hamas Hatred and bigotry International community Nazism Palestine Russia Ukraine

Fake: Austria Agrees To Pay for Russian Gas In Rubles

Austria continues to pay for Russian gas only in Euros and strictly adheres to agreed EU sanctons, said Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer. The politician called the news that Austria paid its Russian gas bill in rubles "another Russian propaganda fake".

April 27, 2022
Austria Fact checks / debunkings Faked news reports International community Methods Russia Ukraine

Posts do not show ‘Putin condemning Denmark for plundering Indonesian oil tanker’

A video has been viewed millions of times in social media posts that claim it shows Russian President Vladimir Putin angrily condemning Danish authorities for "plundering" an Indonesian tanker after it collected oil from Russia. This is false; the footage shows a ship that was blocked off the coast of Denmark in March 2022 by Greenpeace activists who were calling for a ban on the import of fossil fuels from Russia. The clip of Putin was taken from an unrelated speech he gave in March 2021, in which he accused the West of trying to "cancel" Russian culture.

April 27, 2022
Denmark Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings International community Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Putin Russia

Social media posts overplay North Korea’s support for Russian invasion of Ukraine, analysts say

Social media posts claim North Korea has decided to send troops to Ukraine to support Russia, citing a report by Russian state media. However, the report makes no mention of North Korea sending troops to Ukraine. There have been no official reports or statements to support the claim, as of April 26. North Korean experts told AFP it was "highly unlikely" that Pyongyang would deploy troops to Ukraine.

April 26, 2022
Fact checks / debunkings International community Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions North Korea Russia Ukraine

Did these politicians have senior Nazi grandfathers?

Photos of high-ranking Nazi officials are circulating on social media along with the allegation they show the grandfathers of leading politicians such as German chancellor Olaf Scholz. Here is why these claims are false.

April 26, 2022
Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Germany Hatred and bigotry International community Misconceptions Nazism Russia

Commemorative Zelenskyy coins created by private gift shop, not Biden White House

The commemorative coins honoring Volodymyr Zelenskyy were created for sale by a private company called the White House Gift Shop, not the U.S. government.

Social media users are falsely claiming that the Biden White House created special coins honoring Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Despite what the posts suggest, the commemorative coins were created by a private company, not President Joe Biden's White House.

The nonprofit White House Historical Association ' which runs two retail shops located near the White House in Washington, including one at the White House Visitor Center ' confirmed to PolitiFact that its stores are not selling the commemorative Zelenskyy coins. There is no mention of the coins on the White House's official government website, either.

We rate this Facebook post False.

April 25, 2022
Fact checks / debunkings International community Misconceptions President Biden Ukraine USA

AFP photo from West Bank falsely shared as ‘Ukrainian child throwing stones at Russian tank’

A photo of a child throwing a stone at a tank has been shared repeatedly in Chinese-language posts on Twitter, Facebook, and Weibo alongside a claim it shows the Ukrainian resistance against Russia's invasion. This is false: the photo was taken by an AFP journalist in 2002 and actually shows a Palestinian child throwing a stone at an Israeli tank.

FACT CHECK: Did Time Magazine Feature Volodymyr Zelenskyy On Its Cover? | Check Your Fact

Verdict: False
The cover is digitally fabricated. A Time Magazine spokesperson confirmed the outlet did not publish such a cover.
[Note: This article is dated April 2022. Zelensky was featured on the 26 Dec., 2022 cover of Time Magazine, as its 'Person of the Year']

April 20, 2022
AI-generated images Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings International community Methods Misconceptions Ukraine USA