Category Coordinated disinformation

Claims that Vladimir Putin destroyed an ‘adrenochrome warehouse in Ukraine’ lack evidence

A recent blog post builds on a fictitious narrative that Russian President Vladimir Putin is stymieing the production of adrenochrome in Ukraine.......We found no credible news reports or sources to corroborate the unfounded allegations, which were published on Real Raw News, a site that regularly posts fake news. The blog's stories are written by someone using a pseudonym and the site has a disclaimer saying it contains "humor, parody and satire," though the author has defended his stories as truth.

The same site wrote separately that Putin intercepted a shipment of adrenochrome bound for the United States. We rated that Pants on Fire!......We rate claims that Putin destroyed an adrenochrome warehouse in Ukraine Pants on Fire!

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.

What do we know about the Ukrainian soldier accused of wearing an ‘Islamic State badge’?

Since Thursday, February 16, numerous posts online have featured screenshots of a Danish television report showing a Ukrainian soldier with a patch on his uniform that some are saying means he belongs to the Islamic State organisation. However, there is no clear proof of what this patch represents. The Ukrainian soldier in question has given his own version of events.

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.

Team Jorge’: Journalists expose the business of disinformation black ops – Tech 24

This week saw the release of a wide-ranging investigation into the lucrative disinformation industry, published by a media consortium led by the French NGO Forbidden Stories. At the centre of the story is a shadowy Israeli group nicknamed "Team Jorge" who claims it has influenced 33 elections worldwide with a potent combination of phone hacking and thousands of fake profiles. FRANCE 24's Technology Editor Peter O'Brien dives into the systems they use to wage disinformation "black ops".

February 17, 2023
Coordinated disinformation Fact checks / debunkings France International community Israel Misconceptions NGOs

Vladimir Putin didn’t intercept shipment of chemical compound adrenochrome

Adrenochrome features heavily in QAnon conspiracy theories, which purport the baseless idea that a global cabal of pedophiles is harvesting the chemical from the blood of children to stay young and healthy.
That's false, and so is the claim that Putin foiled a shipment of it.

We found no credible news reports or other sources to corroborate the claims in this post.

Real Raw News has a disclaimer saying it contains "humor, parody and satire," though the author has defended his stories as truth. The website also regularly publishes false, fantastical stories authored by someone using a pseudonym.

We rate this baseless post Pants on Fire!

Fact check: Russia’s disinformation campaign targets NATO

In the battle for influence running parallel to Russia's war on Ukraine, the Kremlin has consistently taken aim at NATO. DW asked experts how the propaganda machine works.

Did Volodymyr Zelensky call for ‘preventive nuclear strikes’ against Russia? Not exactly

Social media users have been circulating a video of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, claiming that the footage shows him calling on NATO to launch preventive nuclear strikes against Russia. It turns out, however, that this footage isn't new - Zelensky made these statements back in October 2022. Moreover, the translation of his statement, originally in Ukrainian, leaves out some nuance.

Manipulation: Bill Gates: Ukraine Is World’s Biggest Danger

Bill Gates did not say that in the coming years Ukraine will be the greatest danger for the world. In an interview with the German newspaper Handelsblatt, the well-known philanthropist stressed that war is a "terrible tragedy" for the country where hostilities are taking place, but the echoes of this war also reverberate throughout the world. In particular, African countries are now receiving less attention because European budgets are being reallocated to other needs brought on by the pandemic, the war, and the energy crisis.

Fake: Spring Sowing Campaign Under Threat As All Grain Taken Out of Ukraine

Preparations for the spring sowing campaign in Ukraine are in full swing.
Despite the Russian invasion, mined fields and the temporary occupation of
some regions, Ukraine is preparing to sow enough grain to not only meet the
country's annual needs, but to also to allow grain and foodstuffs exports
to foreign markets.

February 10, 2023
Coordinated disinformation Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings International community Misconceptions Russia Russian propaganda Ukraine