Category Media taken out of context

Video clip of military helicopter crash is from a video game, not the war in Ukraine

This isn't a real video showing the Ukrainian military shooting down Russian helicopters. It's a simulation from the Arma 3 video game.

Using keyword searches we found the same video on YouTube, which described the scene as a simulation from Arma 3, a military tactical shooter video game that's been used several times in false claims about the fighting in Ukraine.

The same Facebook account posted another video titled "Rus_sian Helicopter Convoy firing at U_kraine Military Base." It, too, is from the same game and doesn't depict real-life combat.

We rate these posts False.

UPDATE, June 7, 2022: We updated this fact-check to include another Facebook video misrepresenting video game footage.

June 6, 2022
Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Russia Ukraine

No, a photo of burning books was not taken during current war in Ukraine

Photo claiming to show burning Ukrainian history books isn't from the current war with Russia. It actually dates back to March 2010.

FACT CHECK: Did CNN Report That A Man Named ‘Bernie Gores’ Was Killed In The Uvalde, Texas School Shooting? | Check Your Fact

Verdict: False
A CNN spokesperson denied the outlet published such an article. The man pictured has been falsely linked to similar tragedies in the past.

Did Russian soldiers really burn Ukrainian history books?

Politicians and experts shared a photo of burningÂ books on May 21, claiming that the Russian army had begun getting rid of Ukrainian books in occupied areas. While Ukrainian authorities have reported cases of Russian soldiers destroying books, the photo actually shows a book burning organised by pro-Russian protesters in Crimea in 2010.

May 24, 2022
Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Russia Ukraine

No, this photo of Ukrainians training for combat doesn’t prove the war is fake

A Reuters photo of Ukrainians training for combat is being used as supposed evidence that the war there is fake. It's not.

A screenshot of a tweet by conservative activist Jack Posobiec is spreading on social media as evidence that the war in Ukraine is staged.

Trudy Rubin, a foreign affairs columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote from outside of Kyiv in February that civilian trainees were "practicing with cardboard guns or plastic paintball guns or hunting rifles from home until they are provided military weapons."

Even members of the U.S. military have used paintball guns for training exercises.

The war in Ukraine is real, and it has been well-documented by reporters and citizens on the ground in the country.

We rate claims that this photo proves it's being staged Pants on Fire.

No, Finland is not sending tanks to its border with Russia – Truth or Fake

Despite jitters over the Ukraine war in many countries and Finland's decision to seek NATO membership, tanks have not been sent to the Finnish border with Russia, despite a viral video suggesting just that. We also look at false claims surrounding a recent protest in Paris.

May 12, 2022
Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Russia

FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show A Ukrainian Drone Sinking A Russian Warship? | Check Your Fact

Verdict: False
The footage is from a military-based video game. It does not show a genuine Ukrainian drone strike on a Russian warship.

May 10, 2022
Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Ukraine

Images of Ukrainian flag being replaced with Soviet Union flag are from 2015, not 2022

Iterations of the collage have been online since at least 2015 and appear to be screenshots of a video that shows pro-Russian forces taking control of the eastern Ukrainian city of Debaltseve. It's unrelated to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The photos are real, but they're outdated and do not appear to have been taken in Mariupol. The social media posts were miscaptioned.

Our ruling
A collage shared online claims to show Russian forces replacing the Ukrainian flag with the Soviet Flag in Mariupol in 2022.

Iterations of the collage have been online since at least 2015 and appear to feature screenshots of a video that shows pro-Russian forces taking control of the eastern Ukrainian city of Debaltseve.

It's unrelated to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

We rate this False.

Three claims accuse Volodymyr Zelensky of being addicted to cocaine

In recent weeks, people have been sharing at least three videos purporting to show Ukrainian PresidentÂ Volodymyr Zelensky either using cocaine or making incoherent remarks after allegedly consuming drugs. But these videos have been cut misleadingly andÂ sometimes even digitally manipulated.

No, this isn’t a picture of Ukrainian students celebrating Hitler’s birthday

An image of Russians forming the number 55 to celebrate the anniversary of Yuri Gagarin rocketing into space has been mischaracterized to wrongly claim that it shows Ukrainian students celebrating Hitler's birthday.

Anyone confusing this shape for a swastika is mistaken. While the the numbers are made with straight lines like a swastika ' lacking the curve that's often used to write the number five ' the angles are off. The two ends of both fives point in the same direction, whereas each end of a swastika points in a different direction.

But what's more, this photo wasn't taken in Lviv in 2022. It was shot in Penza, Russia, in 2016, to celebrate the 55th anniversary of Cosmonautics Day.

The "55" can be seen at the 47 mark, and it's followed by an image of Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet pilot who became the first person to orbit the earth on April 12, 1961.

We rate this post Pants on Fire!