Category Misconceptions

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.

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Fake: US Permits Ukraine to Strike Russia’s New Territories

This information is fake. The White House did not permit Ukraine to strike Russian territory. On the contrary, the White House's National Security Council strategic communications coordinator John Kirby stated that the US does not 'enable or encourage' the Ukrainian Forces to strike outside Ukraine and will only assist the Ukrainian Forces in liberating their territories. Moreover, there are no new Russian territories, only the Ukrainian territories illegally occupied and annexed by Russia.

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Fake: Ukraine Stages Aspirational Videos to Raise Morale Among the Military

A video circulating online shows the filming of the short feature film 'Hope'. The behind-the-scenes videos were taken from the TikTok account of the director Artem Kocharyan, who currently lives in Latvia. The film is based on the real story of his Ukraine acquaintance - a pregnant girl who lost her family due to the Russian aggression.

Read MoreFake: Ukraine Stages Aspirational Videos to Raise Morale Among the Military

Fake: “Radicals” burn down Moscow Patriarchate Orthodox Church in Mykolaiv province

Russian media are circulating a video purporting to show the torching of an
Orthodox Church belonging to the Moscow Patriarchate in the Mykolaiv region
by Ukrainian "radicals". The video was actually taken in Russia ten years
ago, in 2013.

Read MoreFake: “Radicals” burn down Moscow Patriarchate Orthodox Church in Mykolaiv province

Posts use old video to falsely claim Russian president visited South Africa in March 2023

After the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant last month for Russian President Vladimir Putin, a video re-emerged on social media claiming to show him arriving in South Africa for an official visit. But this is false: the video was filmed in July 2018 ahead of the 10th summit of the BRICS group, which South Africa hosted. AFP Fact Check previously debunked a similar claim about the video a few months after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Read MorePosts use old video to falsely claim Russian president visited South Africa in March 2023

Why fake anti-Zelensky graffiti is showing up all over the world – The Observers

Did graffiti depicting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a black hole "sucking up European money" really appear on the streets of a Paris suburb? What about graffiti showing the president as an insect or as excrement? According to images circulating online, graffiti like this has been popping up on the streets of several European cities. But in fact, none of them ever existed. We took a closer look to prove that they are fake.

Read MoreWhy fake anti-Zelensky graffiti is showing up all over the world – The Observers

Geolocation proves video showing soldiers harassing Russian-speaking woman is staged – Truth or Fake

A video shared by everyone from prominent Russian media to official Kremlin social media accounts purports to show Ukrainian soldiers harassing a woman and her child. But open source communities' debunking of the video has prompted an unusual backtrack from some of the pro-Russian lobby. We take a closer look in this edition of Truth or Fake.

Read MoreGeolocation proves video showing soldiers harassing Russian-speaking woman is staged – Truth or Fake