Fake: Wagner Group Destroys Leopard Tank and its Polish-German Crew
Fake Russian social media posts use 2018 photo of Turkish tank destroyed in
Syria.
Category Methods
Fake: Air Raid Siren During Joe Biden’s Visit to Kyiv Turned on Intentionally
According to Ukraine's Air Force, the air raid alert that sounded during
the US President Joe Biden's visit to Kyiv was due to the take-off of in
Belarus of MiG-31K aircraft carrying Russian Kinzhal missiles. The maximum
range of such missiles is more than 2,000 kilometers, which is why air
raids sirens are sounded throughout the country every time Russian planes
carrying those missiles take off.
Footage shows Volodymyr Zelensky’s bodyguard, not body double
Social media posts claim a man pictured trailing Volodymyr Zelensky during US President Joe Biden's surprise trip to Kyiv was the Ukrainian leader's secret body double or clone. This is false; other footage of the same moments shows the man is Maksym Donets, Zelensky's bodyguard since 2019.
The war in Ukraine isn’t ‘fake,’ and these photos don’t prove that it is
Construction workers in Ukraine have been working to repair homes damaged by missiles during the country's war with Russia. Their efforts have been captured by amateur and professional photographers, as well as multiple news organizations.
A photo of a reconstructed building is not proof the war is fake. The war is real and has left thousands of civilians dead.
Images from professional and amateur photographers captured the repair progress. European Pressphoto Agency published multiple before-and-after images of the building. One montage of images shared on Twitter on Feb. 26, 2023, appears to show the building repairs at different phases.
We rate claims that these images prove the war in Ukraine is fake Pants on Fire!
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.
How one year of disinformation has shaped the narrative of the Ukraine war online
On February 24, 2022, Russia began a full-scale invasion into Ukraine, triggering a war on the ground, but also an information war online. Since then, the FRANCE 24 Observers team has debunked 115 pieces of misinformation that have been shared in photos or videos online. But what are the main themes in these false narratives? And what techniques are used to misinform? Here's a look back at this year in fake news.
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.
Photo of Biden, Zelenskyy holding hands was altered
President Joe Biden made a surprise trip to Ukraine on Feb. 20, and he was photographed walking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy outside of a monastery in Kyiv.
Multiple news outlets have published the picture. But an altered version of the photo is spreading on social media....Biden announced more military aid for Ukraine on the trip, but the image, taken for The New York Times by photographer Daniel Berehulak, is doctored.
We rate claims the photo is authentic False.
Video of Biden saying some U.S. aid could support Ukrainian pensions is from April 2022
President Biden did say some U.S. aid to Ukraine could go to social support, like helping with pensions. The viral video clip is from 2022.
Chinese social media users share edited Putin speech video with false subtitles about Ukraine
Chinese social media users have repeatedly shared a doctored clip of Russian President Vladimir Putin giving a speech with false subtitles that claim he said he will not step down from power until "the problem in Ukraine is settled". However, the video contains clips taken from two different addresses and audio from one of the speeches. The Chinese and English language subtitles are false translations of the speech. As of February 17, 2023, AFP has found no official reports about Putin making such an announcement.