Category Russia

Was a retired Canadian general captured by Russians in Ukraine? – Truth or Fake

We take a look at reports that a retired Canadian lieutenant generalÂ was captured by Russian forces at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, Ukraine. Also, does the Rothschild family banking dynasty own Reuters news agency? (Short answer: no!)

October 15, 2024
Coordinated disinformation Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Russia Russian propaganda Ukraine

Were these Ukrainians staging a fake battle scene? Nope, it’s a music video

Pro-Russian social media accounts have been widely circulating a video over the past few weeks that shows a man dressed as a Ukrainian soldier acting out a scene in front of a camera. These accounts have claimed this video is proof that people are staging scenes of theÂ war in Ukraine. Turns out, however, the video was filmed during the shooting of a music video by a Ukrainian artist whose music represents the "pain of war".

No, these photos don’t prove that Zelensky is filming his videos in front of a green screen

Pro-Russian social media accounts have been circulating photos and a video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky standing in front of a green screen, claiming that this image offers proof that the videos that he publishes on social media are filmed in a studio and not on the ground as claimed. However, these pictures don"t prove anything of the sortÂ -Â they were taken during a forum where the president appeared as a hologram.

Did Ukrainians really place anti-Russian stickers around Auschwitz? Nope.

Several pro-Russian accounts have been circulating photos that they say show how Ukrainians put anti-Russian stickers in different places in Auschwitz, the former death camp run by the Nazis. The stickers say:Â "Russia & RussiansÂ - The only gas you and your country deserve is Zyklon B", a reference to the toxic gas used by Nazis to kill prisoners in the on-site gas chambers.

Did Russian soldiers really burn Ukrainian history books?

Politicians and experts shared a photo of burningÂ books on May 21, claiming that the Russian army had begun getting rid of Ukrainian books in occupied areas. While Ukrainian authorities have reported cases of Russian soldiers destroying books, the photo actually shows a book burning organised by pro-Russian protesters in Crimea in 2010.

October 15, 2024
Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Russia Ukraine

No, this photo doesn’t show an American admiral captured by Russians in Mariupol

On May 14, pro-Russia social media accounts started circulating a photo of a group of soldiers taken prisoner by the Russian army. These accounts claimed that one of the prisoners in the photo is a retired American admiral by the name of Eric Olson. That claim is false: this photo actually shows Ukrainians taken prisoner by the Russians in April 2022, well before the soldiers in the steelworks surrendered.

October 15, 2024
Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings International community Misconceptions Russia Russian propaganda Ukraine USA

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.

October 15, 2024
AI-generated images Disinformation Methods Misconceptions Russia Russian propaganda

Five fact-checks about the war in Ukraine

Russia's invasion of Ukraine this year kept our fact-checkers very busy. We wrote 92 articles debunking false claims about information related to the war. These ranged from claims the Bucha massacre was staged to false TV reports and accusations of Nazism among Ukrainians. To mark the end of the year, we made a list of some of our top fact-checks about Ukraine.

No, Ukrainian fans were not responsible for Nazi graffiti at the World Cup

Numerous accounts on Twitter and Telegram have been sharing a video they say is a report by Al Jazeera showing Nazi graffiti left by Ukrainian football fans during the kickoff game of the World Cup in Qatar on November 20. The media outlet, however, says that they didn"t make this video. Moreover, a number of clues haveÂ allowed us to establish that thisÂ is a fake news report and that the Nazi graffiti was, in fact, photoshopped.

Deadly floods submerge Nigeria, and misinformation accuses Ukraine of “staging” war – The Observers

A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.