Category Media taken out of context

Video from 2018 used in misleading post claiming Russian president recently arrived in South Africa

With Eastern Europe in turmoil following the invasion of Ukraine, a Facebook post shared hundreds of times claims Russian President Vladimir Putin is 'in South Africa'. The post includes a video broadcast showing Putin arriving in the country for alliance talks. However, this is misleading: the video was filmed in July 2018 ahead of the 10th summit of the BRICS group, which was hosted by South Africa.

Clip shows video game, not Ukrainian victory in Sievierodonetsk

But a video being shared on social media a few weeks later perhaps buoyed Ukraine's supporters. The description in the July 17 post said "Sievierodonetsk's air defenses shot down 55 Ka 52 helicopters."

Dozens of comments cheered on Ukraine, with Ukrainian flags and GIFs congratulating the country.

That's because anyone who watches the video can clearly see that the footage isn't authentic. It's a video game.

We rate claims of this footage's veracity False.

July 19, 2022
Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Russia Ukraine

Fake: Ukrainian Refugees Brawl on Italian Highway

Ukrainians were not involved in any way in the video that was published by Russian propagandists showing protesters blocking traffic. It was not Ukrainians who were blocking the road to traffic, but local environmental activists from the Extinction Rebellion organization.

Video dates back to 2017 post about Estonian railway repairs, unrelated to EU sanctioning Russia

A video of a railway track being removed has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times after it circulated in posts that claim it shows Lithuania cutting off transit with a Russian exclave after the EU sanctioned certain goods in response to Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in 2022. Although Lithuania did follow the EU sanctions in blocking certain goods to Kaliningrad, the video has been shared in a false context. It was uploaded in a 2017 post about railway repairs in Estonia, years before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Keyword searches found no official reports about Lithuania removing the railway track.

Manipulation: EU Afraid of Ukrainian Weapon and Drug Smuggling

To strengthen border security in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, on July 11 the EU launched a Support Hub for internal security and border management in Moldova. Neither the program nor the announcement mention Ukraine reselling western weapons or being involved in drug trafficking.

Altered magazine cover featuring Ukrainian president spreads online

Social media posts share an image that purportedly shows Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky riding a horse made of banknotes on the cover of Money, a US magazine. But no such cover was published; the image was altered from a 2016 issue, according to the magazine, which is now only available online.

No, a Ukrainian attack didn’t destroy a Moscow skyscraper

A fire broke out on the roof of a Russian skyscraper, according to state news, and was extinguished with minimal damage.

We found no evidence to support the suggestion that the incident is connected to the country's invasion of Ukraine.

A Polish news organization, also citing the Tass agency, said "the fire affected one square meter of space."

We didn't see any credible reports tying the fire to a Ukrainian attack, or any attack.

We rate this post False.

July 7, 2022
Fact checks / debunkings Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Russia Ukraine

Post shows video game footage, not the war in Ukraine

What's being described as footage of the war in Ukraine is seen through a scope, with faint chatter in the background and the blast of weapons obliterating tanks on the ground.

"In Saturday Russian artillery tanks was completely destroyed by Bayraktar TB2 drones," reads a grammatically problematic July 3 Facebook post sharing the video.

But if you watch long enough, the clip is clearly glitchy and the aesthetics might seem familiar ' we've previously fact-checked videos like it that mischaracterize video game footage to make it seem like it's a recording of live combat in Eastern Europe.

Searching for the video's description online, we found a YouTube post that gives more context, informing the reader that this isn't real war footage. We rate claims that this is real war footage False.

FACT CHECK: Does This Image Show A Ukrainian Soldier Covered In Nazi Tattoos? | Check Your Fact

Verdict: False
This photo is miscaptioned. It was taken in 2005 and shows a prisoner from Belarus, not a soldier from Ukraine.

July 6, 2022
Disinformation Hatred and bigotry Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Nazism Russia Ukraine

Footage shows Polish flag at German band’s rock concert, not Indonesian flag

Two videos have been viewed over a million times in social media posts that claim they show an Indonesian flag flown during a concert by German rock band Scorpions after Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited Ukraine and Russia to urge peace talks in late June 2022. The claim is false; the videos were taken during a Scorpions concert in Poland on May 28, 2022. News reports say the Polish and Ukrainian flags had been flown at the concert, not the Indonesian flag.