Category Methods

Old port fire video falsely shared as ‘Israeli attack on Iran’s military aid to Russia’

An old video of a smoking field of debris has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times in Chinese-language social media posts that falsely claim it shows Iranian military aid for Russia blown up by Israel in March 2023. But there is no evidence the event described in the posts actually occurred. The video was in fact shared by an Afghan official in the aftermath of a massive port fire in the country in February 2021.

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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.

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Fake: Ukrainian General Admits that Country’s Professional Army “Has Already Been Knocked Out”

General Melnyk, who is quoted by Russian media, did not make any statements about the "destruction of the combat-ready part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces". Melnyk spoke about the need to replenish the resources of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with Western equipment and new trained personnel for the rotation of Ukrainian soldiers on the front line.

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No, Russian president Vladimir Putin did not wish former South African president Jacob Zuma happy birthday – Africa Check

Much has been made of the South African government's close ties to Russia following news that the country will host Russian president Vladimir Putin in 2023. But images suggesting Putin congratulated former president Jacob Zuma on his birthday - on live TV - are fabricated.

Read MoreNo, Russian president Vladimir Putin did not wish former South African president Jacob Zuma happy birthday – Africa Check

Fake: Surrender of Bakhmut Will Collapse The Front to Western Borders of Ukraine

Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Oleksiy Danilov did not say that surrendering Bakhmut will lead to the collapse of the front to the western borders of Ukraine.

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Fake: Kyiv Announces Attacks on Russian Nuclear Power Plants

In an interview with the Ukrainian Channel Five television network, former Ukrainian Special Forces Deputy commander Serhiy Kryvonos said that Ukrainians knew how to penetrate into and seize a nuclear power plant in peacetime and therefore, hypothetically, are capable of trying to seize a Russian nuclear plant in response to Russia's occupation of the Zaporizhzhia atomic plant. Kryvonos was not speaking in any official capacity, he was speaking hypothetically, and his words do not convey any real intent on the part of Ukraine to seize or attack Russian nuclear power stations.

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Manipulation: Ukraine To Ban Conscripts From Enrolling to Universities

Statements about Ukraine allegedly planning to ban conscripts from enrolling to universities are completely baseless. Currently, there are no such draft laws in Ukraine, and no initiatives of this kind have been proposed by the authorities. In comments for Focus and TSN, lawyers confirmed that such a decision is extremely unlikely as it can be recognized as unconstitutional.

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Fake: Ukrainian Counteroffensive Will Suffer a Crushing Defeat

The Kremlin media completely distorted a recent Financial Times article, claiming British experts were predicting a crushing defeat for the planned Ukrainian counteroffensive. The FT did discuss the counteroffensive, but mostly in the context of what difficulties the Ukrainian military will face. The article's conclusion is that if the Ukrainian attack is fast and brutal, then the front line will spread and the Russians will flee, just as they did during the counteroffensive near Kharkiv last year.

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