Category Disinformation

Story that claims Putin bombed a Biden-owned villa and ‘hammered’ biolabs, pedophile rings is bogus

A story that claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin bombed a villa in Ukraine owned by President Joe Biden is bogus. It was created by a misinformation website that regularly publishes made-up stories. We found no evidence that Biden has a villa in Ukraine. Claims about nefarious biolabs in Ukraine ' some supposedly "U.S. owned" ' are also fabricated, and part of disinformation efforts by Russians. It's unclear what the blog is talking about in its reference to "pedophile rings," but it claims that Putin is wiping out "child trafficking covens" in Ukraine, and we found no evidence that these exist.
Read MoreStory that claims Putin bombed a Biden-owned villa and ‘hammered’ biolabs, pedophile rings is bogus

Fact check: Russia falsely blames Ukraine for starting war

“Maria Zakharova's claim that Ukraine started this war is false. The Russian Federation illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, sparking broad international condemnation. On February 21, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine from the north, northeast, and from the Crimean Peninsula in the south, initiating a full-scale interstate war between Russia and Ukraine”.
Read MoreFact check: Russia falsely blames Ukraine for starting war

Evidence of Russia’s war in Ukraine is plentiful and proves it is not ‘staged’

News reports, testimonies of citizens-turned-fighters, and a swift global response all fly in the face of baseless claims that Russia's war on Ukraine is "staged." "There is little to refute directly, other than to note that thousands or millions of people would have to be in on any conspiracy to fake a war, and like the 9/11 attacks (which some people also deny) there is substantial video footage of attacks on Ukrainian cities, Russian invading forces, and throngs of refugees," Radnitz said. Nevertheless, he added, "a true believer will persist in denying all that evidence, something that is easier to do when the conflict is geographically distant and they do not personally know anyone directly affected by it." With a war raging, the world responding and both sides of the conflict experiencing its effects, the claim that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is "scripted and staged" holds no merit. We rate it Pants on Fire!
Read MoreEvidence of Russia’s war in Ukraine is plentiful and proves it is not ‘staged’

This video is from a climate change protest in Austria. It doesn’t show crisis actors in Ukraine

The people under the tarps aren't crisis actors from Ukraine trying to fool people into thinking they are dead. They were part of a protest against climate change that was held in Vienna, Austria, on Feb. 4. The clip is from a Feb. 4 demonstration against climate change in Vienna. The reporter, Marvin Bergauer, is from an Austrian news channel called OE24 TV and is speaking German in the video. An English translation of the chyron on the video says "Vienna: Demo against climate policy." The people under the tarps aren't crisis actors ' from Germany, Ukraine or anywhere else ' trying to fool people into thinking that they are dead. They're protesters from Austria in a video taken before the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. We rate this False.
Read MoreThis video is from a climate change protest in Austria. It doesn’t show crisis actors in Ukraine

Ukraine: The fake images ‘showing Ukrainian resistance to the Russian army’

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, images purporting to show Ukrainian acts of resistance have been shared widely on social networks. The Ukrainian population is indeed carrying out a strong resistance in several cities, but some of these posts are actually images taken out of context and have nothing to do with the ongoing conflict.
Read MoreUkraine: The fake images ‘showing Ukrainian resistance to the Russian army’

New Russian nuke weapon dubbed Satan 2 cannot destroy ‘everything breathing in the world’

Russian state media says the missile can destroy an area the size of Texas or France, not the world. We could not find more objective reports detailing the same destructive power. "Individual warheads would strike distinct targets within a very limited ballistic 'footprint,' or many warheads from the same missile would strike the same target, increasing the likelihood of destroying that target completely," according to a 2021 report from EurAsian Times. The weapon is believed to be able to evade missile defense systems and its deployment is expected around 2022, said a March 1 Congressional Research Service report. We rate the claim that a Russian nuclear weapon dubbed Satan 2 is "capable of destroying everything breathing in the world" False.
Read MoreNew Russian nuke weapon dubbed Satan 2 cannot destroy ‘everything breathing in the world’

Fact check roundup: What’s true and what’s false about the Russian invasion of Ukraine

False and misleading information about the Russian invasion of Ukraine has spread rapidly on social media since Russian forces launched a military assault in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 24. Here’s a roundup of claims related to the Ukraine-Russia conflict analyzed by the USA TODAY Fact Check team.
Read MoreFact check roundup: What’s true and what’s false about the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Is Russia using mobile crematoriums in Ukraine? – Truth or Fake

British website The Telegraph is reporting that Russia is using mobile crematoriums in Ukraine in bid to hide its losses. But the accompanying video footage of a crematorium actually dates from 2013. It was posted by a Russian incinerator construction company and is not footage from the ground. The use of mobile crematoriums by Russians during the current war in Ukraine is yet to be verified. We tell you more in this edition.
Read MoreIs Russia using mobile crematoriums in Ukraine? – Truth or Fake

Fact-checking claims that NATO, US broke agreement against alliance expanding eastward

No legal agreement prohibits NATO from expanding eastward. Russians have argued that comments made by U.S. and other Western leaders during the negotiations over the reunification of Germany constituted a promise that NATO would not extend beyond then-East Germany. Those allegations have sparked decades of debate amongst those involved in the events, and scholars studying them. Even scholars who say they believe western powers did offer the Soviet Union assurances about NATO expansion say Owens' claim is misleading. Our ruling Owens said, "NATO (under direction from the United States) is violating previous agreements and expanding eastward." There is an ongoing historical debate over comments that Western leaders, including Baker, made during post-Cold War negotiations, and whether what they said amounted to assurances that NATO would refrain from welcoming in countries closer to modern-day Russia. But NATO as an organization made no such pledge, and the formal agreement signed at the end of those negotiations said nothing about the alliance not expanding eastward. We rate this claim Mostly False.
Read MoreFact-checking claims that NATO, US broke agreement against alliance expanding eastward