Category Misconceptions

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.

Ukrainian island defenders were captured by Russia, not killed

Social media posts, online articles and Ukraine's president hailed 13 of the country's border guards as heroes, saying they were killed on a small Black Sea island after rejecting a Russian warship's surrender demand. But Kyiv's navy later admitted the troops were captive rather than dead, and Moscow said dozens had surrendered.

March 8, 2022
Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Russia Ukraine

CNN report about Russian warplanes in Venezuela is from 2018 and unrelated to Ukraine war

A Facebook post shared thousands of times in Nigeria claims that Russia has sent two nuclear bombers to Venezuela, landing them in what it describes as the 'US backyard'. The claim, however, is misleading; while the events mentioned in a CNN report included in the post did take place, they happened in 2018 and have nothing to do with Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Old footage of Vladimir Putin does not show him ‘frustrated’ after Ukraine press briefing

A video of Russian President Vladimir Putin ignoring his official motorcade to go for a walk has been viewed millions of times on Facebook alongside claims that it shows his frustration following a recent press briefing related to the Ukraine invasion. However, this is false; the video is from 2013 and was taken after Putin attended the funeral of his long-time judo trainer.

March 8, 2022
Fact checks / debunkings Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Putin Russia Ukraine

Old thunderstorm video falsely shared as ‘footage of Russia attacking Ukrainian city’

A nighttime video of buildings illuminated by ominous flashes of light has been viewed thousands of times globally on social media alongside a claim it shows Russian forces attacking the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. While the southeastern port city has been under heavy attack, the video was shared in a false context. The footage has circulated online months before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The social media user who filmed the clip told AFP it shows a thunderstorm in the Russian town of Volzhsk.

March 8, 2022
Fact checks / debunkings Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Russia Ukraine

Pictures of Ukrainians throwing Molotov cocktails taken during anti-government protests in 2014

Social media posts shared hundreds of times show photos of people lobbing Molotov cocktails against a backdrop of flames. They claim the pictures show Ukrainians targeting Russian tanks invading the country. While Ukrainians have been making Molotov cocktails in response to the Russian invasion, the photos were taken as anti-government protests swept the capital Kyiv in 2014.

March 8, 2022
2014 Maidan revolution Context Fact checks / debunkings Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Russia Ukraine

This video shows the aftermath of the Lebanon port blast in 2020 — not Ukraine in 2022

A video of heavily damaged buildings has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times online alongside a claim it shows the "situation in Ukraine" as a civilian disaster is growing in the country following Russia's invasion. But the video has been shared in a false context: it shows the aftermath of a cataclysmic port blast in Lebanon that levelled entire neighbourhoods in the capital Beirut in August 2020.

March 8, 2022
Fact checks / debunkings Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Russia Ukraine

Photo shows former attorney general of Crimea, not current prosecutor general of Ukraine

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a photo was shared repeatedly in Facebook posts that claim it shows Ukraine's female prosecutor general, who they say has "caught the public's attention" because of her "stunning" looks. In fact, the photo shows the former attorney general of Crimea, Natalya Poklonskaya, who was appointed by Russia after it annexed the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014. Ukraine's current chief prosecutor is Iryna Venediktova.

March 8, 2022
Fact checks / debunkings Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Russia Ukraine

No, this former Ukrainian beauty queen has not joined the Ukrainian military to fight Russians

The viral photograph shows Anastasiia Lenna, the 2015 Miss Grand Ukraine winner, posing with an airsoft gun. She confirmed that she did not join the Ukrainian military and said she posted the staged image to inspire people.

Our ruling
A Facebook post claims it shows a Ukrainian beauty queen fighting against the Russians invading Ukraine.

That's not the case. Lenna did not join the Ukrainian military. She posted a photo in which she's posing with an airsoft gun. She said the photo was meant to inspire people.

We rate this post False.

March 7, 2022
Fact checks / debunkings Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Ukraine Ukrainian culture

This photo of Zelensky meeting troops was taken before Russia invaded Ukraine

A photo of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is circulating in Facebook posts that claim it shows him sharing a meal with soldiers resisting Russia's invasion. The posts are misleading; the photo was taken when Zelensky visited eastern Ukraine on February 17, 2022, days before Russia launched a military operation in the country.

March 7, 2022
Fact checks / debunkings Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Russia Ukraine