Category Misconceptions

Did Vladimir Putin really defy his arrest order to travel to South Africa? In short, nope

Did Vladimir Putin recently go to South Africa, defying the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court? That's the claim made by at least two videos that have been shared thousands of times on TikTok and Facebook since late March. This footage, however, is old and doesn't in any way prove that Putin has recently travelled to South Africa.
Read MoreDid Vladimir Putin really defy his arrest order to travel to South Africa? In short, nope

Digitized images are from a video game; they’re not from Ukraine war footage

A recent Facebook post suggests that the video featured in it shows footage of the war in Ukraine but the video in question is from a video game. Searching for the post's video description turns up a YouTube post from about a year earlier. It has the same description, but identifies the video as being from "Arma 3," a military simulation game. We rate claims that this clip shows real footage from the war in Ukraine False.
Read MoreDigitized images are from a video game; they’re not from Ukraine war footage

FACT CHECK: Did The Leaked Pentagon Documents Show Ukraine Suffered 71,000 Dead? | Check Your Fact

Verdict: False The claim is based on an altered document. The original document shows that the United States allegedly estimated Ukraine has suffered around 15,500 to 17,000 deaths, not 71,000.
Read MoreFACT CHECK: Did The Leaked Pentagon Documents Show Ukraine Suffered 71,000 Dead? | Check Your Fact

No, this video doesn’t show Ukrainians setting fire to an Orthodox church

Did Ukrainians really set a Russian Orthodox church on fire? A video purporting to show just that has been circulating online since April 5, 2023. However, it turns out that this video was filmed in Russia more than ten years ago and shows an accidental fire.
Read MoreNo, this video doesn’t show Ukrainians setting fire to an Orthodox church

Russian embassy shares AI-generated image of Julian Assange in prison

The Russian Embassy in Kenya shared an image on Twitter on April 6 showing an exhausted-looking Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, who has been incarcerated in the United Kingdom since 2019. However, it turns out that one of his supporters generated the image using artificial intelligence.
Read MoreRussian embassy shares AI-generated image of Julian Assange in prison

Is This Real Footage of Ukrainians Burning Russian-Affiliated Orthodox Church?

Miscaptioned. Context: The video being shared was posted on YouTube around 10 years ago and is reportedly of a church being burned in Russia.
Read MoreIs This Real Footage of Ukrainians Burning Russian-Affiliated Orthodox Church?

9 Doctored Pics and Deepfakes of Volodymyr Zelenskyy | Snopes.com

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been the subject of numerous false rumors, particularly in the form of doctored or misleading photographs and video footage. From a manipulated deepfake video of Zelenskyy supposedly telling Ukrainian soldiers to surrender to Russia to false claims he displayed Nazi logos on his clothes, there is no shortage of examples.
Read More9 Doctored Pics and Deepfakes of Volodymyr Zelenskyy | Snopes.com
Does Video Show U.S. Senator's 'Confessions' to Ukraine Coup?

Does Video Show U.S. Senator’s ‘Confessions’ to Ukraine Coup?

There are a number of misleading elements to this tweet. Firstly, the video is not a "confession" at all. It is footage from an interview with Russian state-funded broadcaster RT. [...] The tweet did not provide the necessary context for readers to be able to judge the significance of the footage, which only contained the opinions of a retired state senator.
Read MoreDoes Video Show U.S. Senator’s ‘Confessions’ to Ukraine Coup?