Category Putin

Is this blonde woman with Putin a ‘paid extra’ for photo-ops? Nope

Social media users have noted that the same blonde woman has appeared behind Russian President Vladimir Putin on three different occasions - proof, they say, that he used "paid extras" during his address marking the start of 2023. However, it turns out that these images do feature different women. One is a soldier who was given a prize by Putin on December 31, 2022 while the two other images show a regional deputy (local politician) from Novgorod, and a supporter of the Russian president. This politician has been previously accused of being an extra.

January 6, 2023
Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings France International community Misconceptions Putin Russia Ukraine

Did Vladimir Putin use paid actors in his New Year’s speech? – Truth or Fake

Internet sleuths are setting social media alight with claims that the Russian president used "paid extras" in his New Year's Eve address, after they found previous official photographs featuring a blonde woman with a striking resemblance to one pictured during the speech. These claims have made media headlines across the globe. We take a closer look in this edition of Truth or Fake with Vedika Bahl.

January 4, 2023
Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Putin Russia

Finland did not advise citizens to ‘urgently buy iodine tablets after escalation of war in Ukraine’

Several Thai posts have shared a misleading claim that the Finnish government advised its citizens to urgently buy iodine tablets after an escalation of the war in Ukraine. It circulated in October 2022 after the Nordic country updated its guidelines on the use of iodine in case of a radiation hazard. A government official told AFP that events in Ukraine would not compromise radiation safety in Finland. They added that their guidelines aim to ensure there is protection for the most vulnerable in case of an emergency resulting from a nuclear reactor accident, as they are heavily dependent on nuclear power.

Image shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visiting Russia in 2019, not 2022

An image of Kim Jong Un has been shared repeatedly in posts that claim the North Korean leader visited Moscow as Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a speech in September 2022. Some posts written in Korean also claim South Korean media ignored Kim's visit. But the claim -- which circulated as Russia pushed on with its war in neighbouring Ukraine -- is false. The posts show Kim's visit to the Russian port city of Vladivostok in April 2019 for a summit with Putin.

October 12, 2022
Fact checks / debunkings International community Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions North Korea Putin Russia

War in Ukraine: Fact-checking Russian claims that Nato troops are fighting in Ukraine

It's well known that foreign fighters have joined Ukrainian military units. However, claims are being made by Russian officials and media outlets of serving Nato troops on the ground in Ukraine. [...]

Russian media outlets haven't provided evidence of serving Nato personnel on the ground, only pointing to the presence of individual foreign fighters on the battlefield.

September 21, 2022
Aid to Ukraine Fact checks / debunkings International community Narratives NATO Poland Putin Russia Russian propaganda The war is a hoax Ukraine

Video shows Putin’s face superimposed on exiled tycoon’s body for anti-Kremlin film promo

Footage that appears to show Russian President Vladimir Putin behind bars has surfaced in social media posts claiming he was arrested on terrorism charges. However, the clip has been doctored to superimpose Putin's face onto that of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an oil tycoon who spent a decade in jail. The altered video was originally published to promote a documentary that accused Russian authorities of orchestrating a series of apartment block bombings in 1999.

September 16, 2022
Fact checks / debunkings Media taken out of context Methods Misconceptions Putin Russia War crimes

Fact check: No Putin tattoo sessions in German hospice

A strange video is spreading on Telegram and Twitter: Hospice residents in Germany are allegedly getting tattoos of Putin to take him to his death as "living voodoo dolls." The whole thing is a fake.

September 15, 2022
Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Germany International community Misconceptions Putin Russia Russian propaganda Ukraine

Despite Putin’s claim, Russia has lost plenty in Ukraine invasion

Russia has lost as many as 25,000 soldiers in its invasion of Ukraine, with tens of thousands more injured, according to estimates from U.K. and U.S. officials.

Russia's economy will contract as much as 6% this year mostly because of international sanctions, the country's central bank predicted.

Thousands of educated professionals have fled the nation after the war began, according to news reports.

Our ruling
Putin stated that Russia has lost nothing since the country invaded neighboring Ukraine in February.

Russia has suffered many losses. As many as 25,000 Russian soldiers are estimated to have died. Indicators from within Russia show the Russian economy has been damaged by international sanctions resulting from the war. And experts say thousands of Russians from many professional backgrounds, including tech and academia, have fled the nation.

We rate Putin's claim False.

September 9, 2022
Coordinated disinformation Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Putin Russia Russian propaganda

Video from 2018 used in misleading post claiming Russian president recently arrived in South Africa

With Eastern Europe in turmoil following the invasion of Ukraine, a Facebook post shared hundreds of times claims Russian President Vladimir Putin is 'in South Africa'. The post includes a video broadcast showing Putin arriving in the country for alliance talks. However, this is misleading: the video was filmed in July 2018 ahead of the 10th summit of the BRICS group, which was hosted by South Africa.

Fact check: Putin’s lie about Ukraine war

Thousands of Ukrainians have been killed in Russian rocket attacks since February 24. Still, Vladimir Putin claims his soldiers don't attack civilian targets. The facts show quite the opposite.