Category Faked news reports

Manipulation: Zelensky Talking the Pope Out of Negotiations and Peace

The New York Times article does not claim that Ukraine opposes peace and negotiations. On the contrary, it emphasizes that the main topic of the meeting between President Zelenskyi and the Pope was precisely the Peace Formula - the Ukrainian scenario for the end of the war. At the same time, Zelenskyi really considers the negotiations with Putin meaningless.

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Manipulation: Ukraine Drives Up Criminal Activity in Eastern Europe

The April 24 article on the French news Atlantico website does not claim that crime in Eastern Europe has skyrocketed because of Ukraine. The story refers to the so-called Carpathian gray zone, an area used by criminal groups from various countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia, to traffic prohibited goods to the EU. According to Xavier Raufer, the article's author, the increased flow through the Carpathian zone is caused by Russia's war against Ukraine and its blockade of Ukrainian ports.

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Fake CNN tweet on Zelensky, immigration spreads online

An image circulating online purports to show a CNN tweet quoting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saying he plans to change his war-torn nation's demographics through mass immigration. But the supposed screenshot is fabricated; the global news network published no such post, a spokesperson confirmed to AFP.

Read MoreFake CNN tweet on Zelensky, immigration spreads online

‘Stamp of approval’: Twitter’s Musk amplifies misinformation

Elon Musk promised to make Twitter the "most accurate source of information about the world," but he has repeatedly used his own account to amplify false claims from some of the most notorious disinformers on the internet, according to an AFP analysis of his online activity.

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Fake: Ukrainian Minister Urges to Forbid Russian and Belarusian Tennis Players to Win Matches…

Dmytro Kuleba never made such statements. In his comment to Express media, Kuleba noted that the Russian and Belarusian tennis player being admitted to Wimbledon will be a victory for Russian propaganda and a sign of collapsing West.

Read MoreFake: Ukrainian Minister Urges to Forbid Russian and Belarusian Tennis Players to Win Matches…

Fake: Photo and Video Recording to Be Banned At Ukrainian Cemeteries

There is no such law draft on the Ukrainian parliament's website, nor is there any information about this initiative. The screenshot of the Ukrinform website is fake, as the informational agency did not publish this news either.

Read MoreFake: Photo and Video Recording to Be Banned At Ukrainian Cemeteries

A year of disinformation around the war in Ukraine

The war in Ukraine has been accompanied by a ferocious battle of disinformation, waged in particular by pro-Russian agitators seeking to distort and shift the blame for many atrocities on the ground. They have sought to depict the Ukrainian side as Nazis or suggest that Western support for Kyiv is evaporating. Here are some of the main narratives, false or misleading, that have been fact-checked over the past year by AFP's digital verification teams.

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A year of disinformation around the war in Ukraine | Fact Check

The war in Ukraine has been accompanied by a ferocious battle of disinformation, waged in particular by pro-Russian agitators seeking to distort and shift the blame for many atrocities on the ground. They have sought to depict the Ukrainian side as Nazis or suggest that Western support for Kyiv is evaporating. Here are some of the main narratives, false or misleading, that have been fact-checked over the past year by AFP's digital verification teams.

Read MoreA year of disinformation around the war in Ukraine | Fact Check

Fake: US Unlikely to Hand over Abrams Tanks to Ukraine’ – Financial Times

The Financial Times article cited in this latest Russian fake claiming the
US is unlikely to actually send Abrams tanks to Ukraine, features several
experts, some of whom said that Ukraine may face difficulties using the
Abrams tanks. However, neither the author of the article nor the experts
featured in the story ever said that the United States could "refuse to
transfer Abrams tanks to Ukraine because of the technically complex process
of maintaining their combat readiness."

Read MoreFake: US Unlikely to Hand over Abrams Tanks to Ukraine’ – Financial Times