Parties in Kyiv nightclubs in the midst of war? Watch out for these misleading images // France 24

Source published on: May 12, 2023 /

A video compilation that has been circulating since May 3 claims to show that – despite the war – the party is in full swing in Kyiv’s nightclubs, taking advantage of foreign donations to Ukraine’s war effort. Most of these images date from before the war, however, and some of the establishments where they were filmed have been closed since the conflict began in February 2022.

Indexed on 2024-10-15 01:30 // Categories: Aid to Ukraine, Coordinated disinformation, Disinformation, Fact checks / debunkings, Media taken out of context, Methods, Misconceptions, and Ukraine

These photos do not show Ukrainian ‘children’ being sent to the front // France 24

Source published on: August 25, 2023 /

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, some have claimed that “children” are being recruited into the Ukrainian army. Three viral photos, purporting to show graves of very young soldiers, have been shared since mid-August as evidence of this phenomenon. However, two of these three photos have been manipulated, and actually show the burial sites of adult men.

Indexed on 2024-10-15 01:30 // Categories: Children, Coordinated disinformation, Disinformation, Fact checks / debunkings, Misconceptions, Protected groups & minorities, and Ukraine

These videos do not show clashes between the Wagner Group and Russian forces // France 24

Source published on: June 27, 2023 /

In the aftermath of the armed rebellion attempt by Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenary group against the Russian army command on Saturday June 24, people began sharing images online purporting to show the two sides fighting. But at least two of these videos were taken from the video game Arma 3 – and it’s not the first time this military video game has been used to spread misinformation.

Indexed on 2024-10-15 01:30 // Categories: Disinformation, Fact checks / debunkings, Media taken out of context, Methods, Misconceptions, Russia, and Wagner Group

Watch out, this isn’t a real American ad campaign calling for homeless people to fight in Ukraine // France 24

Source published on: May 23, 2023 /

A call for homeless Americans to join the Ukrainian front? That”s what these advertisements shared on Twitter since April 2023 claim to show. Publications in several languages claim that a poster in the New York subway is offering financial benefits to those who are down on their luck – by fighting in Ukraine. However, there are several visual inconsistencies in the poster that point to it being fake. Plus, Ukrainian authorities have denied the existence of any such campaign.

Indexed on 2024-10-15 01:30 // Categories: Fact checks / debunkings, International community, Ukraine, and USA

DISINFO: EU ban on Russian media is Russophobia and murder of free speech // EU vs Disinfo

Source published on: May 15, 2024 /

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the EU violating freedom of speech and press.

On 15 May 2024, EU ambassadors agreed in principle to place an additional four Russian media outlets on the sanctions list, accusing them of propaganda. These are Voice of Europe, RIA Novosti, Izvestiya and Rossiyskaya Gazeta. The decision was based on the fact that these media outlets are used as a tool of Russian propaganda and disinformation. See here for the list of outlets sanctioned previously.

The EU countries are considered free and democratic by Freedom House. In contrast, Russia is considered one of the least free countries in the world. This is the reason why pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives strongly attack democracy and the EU as a viable model to Russia’s autocratic system.

Indexed on 2024-10-15 01:29 // Categories: Democracy, European Union, Fact checks / debunkings, Freedom of speech, International community, Russia, and Ukraine

DISINFO: In Ukraine, Russia defends traditional values for the benefit of the whole world // EU vs Disinfo

Source published on: May 14, 2024 /

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative on the morally corrupt West which is presented as a justification for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and serves to deflect responsibility for Moscow’s illicit actions. Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine is absurdly portrayed as a war against the West and as a noble cause of fighting for the benefit of mankind against the “culture of degeneracy, perversion, and pathology.”

Western values as well as concepts which are not necessarily linked with Western values and policies but nevertheless attributed to the West in the article are intended to present the West as pernicious, immoral, degenerate, and a threat to traditional values. The narrative about threatened values is one of the most common pro-Kremlin narratives. It portrays the Russian civilisation as morally superior to the Western. Russia uses this narrative to proclaim itself the defender of traditional social and spiritual values all over the world. Progressive Western attitudes about a variety of normative issues, including the rights of women, ethnic and religious minorities, and LGBTQ groups, among others, are often undermined and distorted in pro-Kremlin outlets. Respect for individual choices is often falsely portrayed in the pro-Kremlin media as state policies aimed at propagating and imposing specific actions, such as sex changes on the population.

Indexed on 2024-10-15 01:29 // Categories: Fact checks / debunkings, Russia, Russian propaganda, and Ukraine

DISINFO: International law expert Polish judge Tomasz Szmydt assesses Ukraine’s war crimes // EU vs Disinfo

Source published on: May 14, 2024 /

False claim made in connection with the case of Polish Judge Tomasz Szmydt, who fled to Belarus seeking “political asylum”. For several months, he was observed by the Polish special services who suspected him of espionage in favour of Belarus and Russia.

Tomasz Szmydt is not an expert in International Public Law and has limited professional authority to accuse Ukraine of war crimes (see previous accusations in our database).

In 2019, as explained by DW: “Szmydt made headlines when he was identified as being a member of a group of judges waging a smear campaign on social media against other judges”

Indexed on 2024-10-15 01:29 // Categories: Democracy, Fact checks / debunkings, Freedom of speech, International community, Poland, Ukraine, and War crimes

DISINFO: The attempt on Slovak PM Robert Fico’s life was political terrorism in retaliation for his pro-Russian position // EU vs Disinfo

Source published on: May 15, 2024 /

There is no evidence of the involvement of any Western country in the assassination attempt on Fico.

Slovakian media identified the shooter as 71-year-old Juraj Cintula, a self-described writer who previously worked as a security guard and is allegedly linked to pro-Russian group Slovački branci. Slovakia’s interior minister, Matus Sutaj Estok, told reporters that Cintula was a “lone wolf, whose actions were accelerated after the presidential election since he was dissatisfied with its outcome.”

Indexed on 2024-10-15 01:29 // Categories: Fact checks / debunkings, Russia, and Russian propaganda

DISINFO: The Polish special services fabricated documents against the Polish judge for his pro-peace position // EU vs Disinfo

Source published on: May 15, 2024 /

This message is a part of a wider narrative about the lack of democracy in Western countries, in this case, it promotes the idea that an “aggressive” Poland persecutes its citizens for their political views.

No evidence is provided to support this claim.

This claim was made in connection with the accusations and statements of the Polish Judge Tomasz Szmydt, who ran away to Belarus on 9 May 2024 seeking “political asylum” in this country. In Poland, he is under the suspicion of espionage in favour of Belarus and was stripped of his immunity.

Indexed on 2024-10-15 01:29 // Categories: Democracy, Fact checks / debunkings, Freedom of speech, International community, Poland, and Ukraine

DISINFO: The Polish, American, British and Ukrainian secret services may hunt the Polish run-away judge down // EU vs Disinfo

Source published on: May 15, 2024 /

This message is a part of a wider narrative about the lack of democracy in Western countries, in this case, it promotes the idea that “aggressive” Poland and other democratic countries order political murders of the run-away “dissidents”.

No evidence is provided to support this claim, which is part of a classic “whataboutism” along the line “you blame me for bad things, but you do the same yourself”. It is a whataboutism attempt to deflect attentiona away from Russia’s assignations made in UK (like Alexander Litvinenko), Germany (the Tiergarden murder) and other attempts on political opponent such as former rusisan agent Sergei Skripal, and his daughter Yulia which were targeted with a Novichok chemical nerve critical in Salisbury, UK.

This claim was made in connection with the accusations and statements of the Polish Judge Tomasz Szmydt, who ran away to Belarus on 9 May 2024 seeking “political asylum” in this country. In Poland, he is under the suspicion of espionage in favour of Belarus and was stripped of his immunity.

Indexed on 2024-10-15 01:29 // Categories: Fact checks / debunkings, International community, Poland, and Ukraine

DISINFO: Ukrainian government is planning to relocate to Lviv // EU vs Disinfo

Source published on: May 14, 2024 /

The article contains baseless speculation devoid of any factual basis. It serves the pro-Kremlin aim of eroding morale and a narrative of a disintegrating Ukraine that is in retreat militarily.

The article references a Reuters article, which states that foreign investment and the increase in internally displaced people are most noticeable in the western regions (Lviv and Transcarpathia). However, this fact, which is a consequence of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, has no bearing on the claim that the Ukrainian government is planning a resettlement to western Ukraine, specifically Lviv.

Ukraine has no intention of abandoning Kyiv, the capital city. Even during the height of the war in spring 2022, the government and the president remained in Kyiv.

Indexed on 2024-10-15 01:29 // Categories: Disinformation, Fact checks / debunkings, Misconceptions, Russia, Russian propaganda, and Ukraine

No, Volodymyr Zelensky didn’t buy a villa in Florida // France 24

Source published on: December 18, 2023 /

Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky buy a house in Florida? And did he get American citizenship? Those are the rumors circulating on social media along with a couple of photos. However, the villa that appears in the photos is still up for sale and the certificate of nationality is fake, making this the latest example of fake news stories implying that Ukrainian officials are using international aid money for personal purposes.

Indexed on 2024-10-15 01:29 // Categories: Aid to Ukraine, Coordinated disinformation, Corruption, Disinformation, Fact checks / debunkings, International community, Misconceptions, Narratives, Outrageous luxuries, Ukraine, and USA

This video is not an Israeli advertisement to ‘recruit Ukrainian soldiers’ // France 24

Source published on: November 8, 2023 /

Is the Israeli army trying to recruit Ukrainian soldiers into its ranks? This is what some pro-Russian accounts are suggesting by sharing a video they say is an Israeli advertisement, in which a young Ukrainian soldier talks about his decision to join the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). However, the original video actually shows an Israeli soldier, and the Ukrainian voice has been added digitally.

Indexed on 2024-10-15 01:29 // Categories: Disinformation, Fact checks / debunkings, International community, Israel, Media taken out of context, Methods, Misconceptions, and Ukraine

Three claims accuse Volodymyr Zelensky of being addicted to cocaine // France 24

Source published on: April 26, 2022 /

In recent weeks, people have been sharing at least three videos purporting to show Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky either using cocaine or making incoherent remarks after allegedly consuming drugs. But these videos have been cut misleadingly and sometimes even digitally manipulated.

Indexed on 2024-10-15 01:29 // Categories: Coordinated disinformation, Disinformation, Fact checks / debunkings, Media taken out of context, Methods, Misconceptions, Narratives, Russia, Russian propaganda, Substance abuse, and Ukraine

Fresh round of fake videos claim the Bucha massacre was staged // France 24

Source published on: April 6, 2022 /

Several hundred bodies of civilians were discovered in Bucha, Ukraine on April 3. Since the horrific discovery, pro-Russian accounts on Twitter have been circulating images that they say prove that these bodies were fake or that the massacre was staged by Ukrainians. But we investigated and, it turns out, these images were taken out of context.

Indexed on 2024-10-15 01:29 // Categories: Attacks on civilians, Bucha, Context, Coordinated disinformation, Disinformation, Fact checks / debunkings, Genocide, Genocide vs Ukraine (2022-), Media taken out of context, Methods, Misconceptions, Russia, Russian propaganda, Ukraine, and War crimes