Several videos and photos are circulating online, lending credibility to Russian claims of a serious neo-Nazi problem in Ukraine. The problem here though is that the images and videos are a distortion of reality and, in some cases, completely fictional. We take a closer look in this edition of Truth or Fake.
These images of Ukrainian farmers seizing Russian military equipment with tractors have not been verified, and several of them were digitally altered using photos that predate the 2022 conflict.
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.
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.
Verdict: False
The video shows footage from an open-world military simulator video game. It does not depict an actual Russian helicopter being shot down.
An employee at state-owned Channel One in Russia recently interrupted a live news broadcast to protest the war in Ukraine.
Multiple experts say there are live news broadcasts and other live events on Russian TV.
A former employee of the station said that all Channel One news is live. An expert we spoke with said that's because of the country's many time zones.
Our ruling
A Facebook post said that a Russian journalist's protest during a state TV broadcast couldn't be real because "there are no live on air television broadcasts in Russia. None. Ever."
But experts we spoke with, including journalists who have worked in Russia, said that is not true. There are many live broadcasts, including the news show that was interrupted by an employee's protest. There has been no evidence presented that shows her actions were staged as part of a Russian propaganda effort.
We rate this claim False.
The VERIFY team confirmed a video of Ukraine President Zelenskyy telling his people to surrender is a deepfake. It was created using images from press conferences.
Verdict: False
The woman pictured next to Zelenskyy is not the woman who died weeks earlier. There is no evidence the woman pictured in the post accompanying Zelenskyy has died.
A report broadcast on March 7 by the Russian channel Vesti 92 shows a distribution of food to the residents of Kherson, a town in southern Ukraine occupied by the Russian army. But according to the town's residents, the footage shot on March 4 was actually staged and concealed one important detail: residents protesting the Russian occupation in front of the distribution trucks, as revealed by three amateur videos of the same scene.
Verdict: False
The video features Boyce Avenue member Alejandro Manzano and English musician Connie Talbot. The music video does not feature Zelenskyy or mention Ukraine at any point.