Category Misconceptions

Fact Check: Image of NYT headline on ‘low’ civilian casualties in Ukraine is fake | Reuters

The New York Times did not publish a headline saying Western military experts were bewildered by low civilian casualties in Ukraine. The headline in the circulating screenshot has been altered from an authentic article published by the outlet in late December on Russian airstrikes on Ukraine.

January 8, 2024
Attacks on civilians Coordinated disinformation Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Russia Ukraine

Zelenskyy belly dancing video is a deepfake – Full Fact

WHAT WAS CLAIMED: A video shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy belly dancing at an event. OUR VERDICT: The footage is not genuine. It has been digitally altered, and President Zelenskyy's face has been imposed onto the dancer's using deepfake techniques.

January 5, 2024
Coordinated disinformation Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Ukraine

FACT CHECK: Kim Jong Un And Vladimir Putin Video Edited To Show The Two Refusing To Drink From Glasses After Toasting | Check Your Fact

The caption reads, "When Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong UN met and none of them was willing to drink first." The claim is inaccurate. The video has been edited to remove the moment that they drink. The full video shows that they did drink. The video shows the two toasted each other and then the other people at the table and then were clearly seen drinking.

January 5, 2024
Coordinated disinformation Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions North Korea Putin Russia

Russia did not invade Ukraine to stop a NATO genocide in eastern regions

The Verdict: False. There is no evidence that the people of eastern Ukraine were subject to systematic extermination. [...] The claim was spread widely after [Russian Foreign Affairs official] Maria Zakharova [...] stated in February 2022 that there was a "systematic extermination of the Donbas population." However, an OSCE monitoring mission active in Ukraine since 2014 has found no evidence of mass targeted killings of civilians in the Donbas region. The Russian Foreign Ministry has not provided any proof to back up Zakharova's claim.

Russian Nationalist Channels Fabricate YouTube Data to Claim Ukrainians Don’t Listen to Ukrainian Musicians

"It's just that YouTube Music published the TOP artists in Ukraine. Not a single performer in Ukrainian." That is false. Musicians singing in Ukrainian dominated all of YouTube's weekly charts of top artists in Ukraine in 2023 as shown in YouTube's own data.

January 5, 2024
Coordinated disinformation Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Russia Russian propaganda Ukraine Ukrainian culture

How pro-Russian ‘yacht’ propaganda influenced US debate over Ukraine aid

A website founded by a former US Marine who now lives in Russia has fuelled a rumour that Volodymyr Zelensky purchased two luxury yachts with American aid money. Despite the false claim, the disinformation plot was successful. It took off online and was echoed by members of the US Congress making crucial decisions about military spending. It was an incredible assertion - using two advisers as proxies, Mr Zelensky paid $75m (£59m) for two yachts. But not only has the Ukrainian government flatly denied the story, the two ships in question have not even been sold.

December 20, 2023
Aid oversight Aid to Ukraine Corruption Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Russia Russian propaganda Ukraine USA

Photo of Hawaiian park falsely shared as ‘Putin’s private villa’

A photo of a building complex inside a massive volcanic crater has been repeatedly shared in social media posts that falsely claim it shows a private villa owned by Russian President Vladimir Putin. In fact, the picture shows the Diamond Head Crater in Hawaii, a state park owned and maintained by the US government.

December 20, 2023
Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Putin Russia

Fake: Ukrainian Serviceman Sent to Avdiyivka to Die for Posting a Tik Tok

The author of the TikTok video is alive and was never sent to the frontlines in Avdiyivka. StopFake managed to track him down and the serviceman refuted the information spread by propaganda.

December 19, 2023
Bot farms Coordinated disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Russia Russian propaganda Ukraine

No, Volodymyr Zelensky didn’t buy a villa in Florida

Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky buy a house in Florida? And did he get American citizenship? Those are the rumors circulating on social media along with a couple of photos. However, the villa that appears in the photos is still up for sale and the certificate of nationality is fake, making this the latest example of fake news stories implying that Ukrainian officials are using international aid money for personal purposes.

Fake: Elon Musk Wants to Receive Russian Passport and Thinks Putin Is “Not a…

An excerpt from a broadcast on X (formerly Twitter), in which Elon Musk praises Putin and Russia, was generated by a neural network and shared initially by Russian sources. The original recording of the broadcast with Musk, where he says no such thing, is available online.