Category Russia

Fake: Hungarians Living in Ukraine Report Experiencing Genocide

Instead of Hungarians, propagandist sources actually wrote about the Rusyns, one of the ethnic groups populating the Eastern Carpathians. However, no such statements were made by either Hungarians or Rusyns. The claims by Petro Getsko, who is wanted internationally for violating Ukrainian territorial integrity, do not represent the position of the Carpathian Rusyns. The 'Carpatho-Rusyn Nation' noted that they do not support any of Getko's appeals and condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Fake: Russia Will Face No Consequences Because of The Hague’s Decision in Favor of…

If Russia refuses to voluntarily comply with the Arbitration Tribunal's decision, Naftohaz has the right to start enforcing it in those states where Russia's assets are located.

Fake: Kateryna Prokopenko Becomes an Influential German Politician

There is no evidence that the wife of the Azov regiment commander Kateryna Prokopenko is engaged in any political activities, especially in Germany. Prokopenko, as the head of the public organization 'Association of Families of Azovstal Defenders, visited Germany in early April to draw attention to Ukrainian soldiers being released from captivity and pressure international organizations to investigate the terrorist attack in Olenivka. Representatives of the German Foreign Ministry, in turn, promised to help with implementing rehabilitation programs for the families of the soldiers who died in Mariupol and the families of heroes injured in the terrorist attack in Olenivka, as well as soldiers who returned from captivity with amputations. Moreover, Azov is neither neo-Nazi or fascist. It is an old Russian propaganda fake.

Fake: Ukrainian Minister Urges to Forbid Russian and Belarusian Tennis Players to Win Matches…

Dmytro Kuleba never made such statements. In his comment to Express media, Kuleba noted that the Russian and Belarusian tennis player being admitted to Wimbledon will be a victory for Russian propaganda and a sign of collapsing West.

Fake: Kyiv Bans Easter By Not Allowing People in The Churches

Easter holidays were not canceled either in Kyiv nor anywhere else in Ukraine. It will be possible to attend a services before 12 midnight or after 5 am. Those who decide to stay for the night service, will not be able to leave the churches until the end of the curfew.

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.

April 14, 2023
Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Putin Russia South Africa

Explained: Secret American and NATO Ukraine Plans Came From Discord Server

A cache of documents that first appeared on the Discord server "Thug Shaker Central" appeared to contain genuine intelligence files.

April 13, 2023
International community Russia Ukraine USA

Ukraine: How a film clip fuelled false claims the war is staged – Truth or Fake

Lights, camera, action! A viral video of soldiers falling to the ground from explosions - with cameras present - has fuelled accusations the war in Ukraine is staged. But it's simply behind-the-scenes footage of a Ukrainian short film. We spoke exclusively to the producer and director in this edition of Truth or Fake with Vedika Bahl.

April 13, 2023
Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Russia Russian propaganda Ukraine

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.

April 12, 2023
Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Russia Ukraine

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.