Fact Check Roundup: Trump’s Zelensky claims and more
We take a look at the viral claims made by President Trump and others about Ukraine over the last two weeks.
Category Democracy
Read MoreFact Check Roundup: Trump’s Zelensky claims and more
Truth Social ban falsehood pushed by Russian media
WHAT WAS CLAIMED: Volodymyr Zelenskiy has blocked access to Trump's Truth Social across Ukraine.
OUR VERDICT: False. Truth Social has never been available in Ukraine.
No, Zelenskyy hasn’t blocked access to Truth Social in Ukraine
Our rating: False.
A spokesperson for Truth Social's parent company said the claim is false and the social media platform has never been available in the country.
Dictator without elections’?: fact-checking Trump’s main criticisms of Zelensky
In mid-February 2025, Donald Trump multiplied his attacks against Volodymyr Zelensky, branding the Ukrainian president a "dictator without elections," questioning the use of American aid to Ukraine, and accusing him of "starting" the war. Here is a look back at these statements, which were false, misleading or unsubstantiated according to AFP's analysis, revealing unprecedented tensions between Washington and Kyiv.
Why Ukraine can’t hold elections during wartime
Open civil society letter: Elections in Ukraine must be held only after sustainable peace is achieved, ensuring a free, fair, and democratic process that reflects the will of the people.
Trump’s flurry of false claims about Ukraine – The Washington Post
In remarks and social media posts, the president echoed Russian talking points. [...]
Here’s an assessment of Trump’s misleading statements on Ukraine in recent days.
Fact check: No, Zelenskyy doesn’t have 4% approval as Trump claims; it’s over 50%
In reality, respected polls in Ukraine show that Zelenskyy has over 50% approval among Ukrainians. The most recent, published by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) in early February, showed that 57% of respondents said they trusted Zelenskyy.
DISINFO: Europe opposes Georgian foreign agent law because it is a paradise of corruption
This is a pro-Kremlin recurrent narrative about the alleged corruption and opacity of the West, purportedly needed by the globalist elites, contrasted with the transparency and probity of the multipolar world. In this instance, the narrative applies to the controversial new Georgian law on "transparency of foreign influence," which is inspired by similar measures in Russia.
The new law requires news media and non-governmental organisations that receive more than 20% of their budget from abroad to register as "carrying out the interests of a foreign power." Opponents denounce it as "the Russian law" because it resembles measures pushed through by the Kremlin. Since 2012, the Russian opposition, NGOs, and civil society as a whole have been diminished due to this legislative tool, which was progressively implemented.
DISINFO: “Peace” conference in Switzerland a propaganda exercise to cover up Zelenskyy’s illegitimacy
This is a pre-emptive attempt to discredit the peace summit which Switzerland will host on 15-16 June 2024, mixed with pro-Kremlin narratives questioning the legitimacy of Ukrainian authorities and specifically president Volodymyr Zelenskyy -frequent targets of pro-Kremlin disinformation- and falsely portraying Ukraine's Maidan protests as a coup d'etat.
These disinformation narratives are being pushed again to challenge Zelenskyy's legitimacy. However, the Ukrainian Constitution is straightforward: the President of Ukraine exercises his powers until the assumption of office by the newly-elected President. The continuity of government institutions is one of the key principles of the Constitution. Ukraine's constitution clearly stipulates that no elections can be held during wartime. While this situation has caused some domestic controversy in Ukraine, almost all observers consider regular elections unfeasible as there are millions of refugees abroad, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians serving on the frontlines and a significant part of Ukrainian population lives under Russian occupation.
DISINFO: Support for Zelensky below 20 percent among Ukrainians
No evidence is provided to support these claims. These figures were presented by Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service and are almost certainly made up. Multiple reputable surveys have rated President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's approval at 81% in October 2023 (Gallup), at 62% in December 2023 (Kyiv International Institute of Sociology), at 60% in February 2024 (Kyiv International Institute of Sociology), and at 63% in April 2024 (USAID), numbers quite far away from the claims made by Russian media.
