Russia And Ukraine

Did American actor Elijah Wood offer Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "to cure drug and alcohol addiction" on Instagram? No, that's not true: The actor doesn't post Instagram stories publicly. Wood did not say anything that would imply he was addressing Zelenskyy specifically in the heavily edited clip circulating on social media. The claim appeared in a tweet published on July…

Did the United Kingdom send a "'Robot Royal Force' 🇬🇧 Type-C robot" to help Ukraine with the war in July 2023? No, that's not true: There was no information or credible report online to corroborate the claim that the United Kingdom sent or would send a "'Robot Royal Force' Type-C robot" to help Ukraine following Russia's military invasion. Also, animation…

Does the music video "Try That In A Small Town" by country music singer Jason Aldean only contain "real news footage," as he asserted in a public response to criticism that his song and video promote violence and allude to timeworn lynching threats? No, that's not true: Not every clip in the video is news footage. There are several stock…

Is there a huge traffic jam leaving Kyiv to get to western Ukraine "right now," on July 17, 2023? No, that's not true: The video shown in this tweet goes back at least to August 22, 2022. It does not show a traffic jam made up of people fleeing Kyiv for western Ukraine due to purported concerns over Russian retaliation…

Did the German newspaper Handelsblatt publish a cartoon of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its front page in the aftermath of the 2023 NATO summit, calling to "reconsider attitudes" toward support of Zelenskyy and Ukraine? No, that's not true: No such cover could be found on the Handelsblatt official website. The story appeared in a tweet (archived here) published on…

Did a viral video show Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy performing a belly dance on camera? No, that's not true: The footage portrays a different person, a professional belly dance instructor from Argentina, and Zelenskyy's face seems to have been superimposed on that person's body. The story appeared in a post (archived here) published on TikTok on July 15, 2023. It…

Does Amazon's Alexa speaker say World War III will start in November 2023 when "Russia launches an attack against Germany"? No, that's not true: Amazon told Lead Stories that their AI system does not give that Alexa response to a question about when World War III would start. The claim appeared in a video published on Facebook on July 3,…

Did a viral photo capture the bodies of Russian soldiers mashed together into a rectangular piece of flesh "for easy transportation"? No, that's not true: The image showed previously frozen but then thawed pet food left in the streets of a Russian village near the border with Ukraine. The claim appeared in a tweet posted on July 4, 2023. It…

Is graffiti of a hanged Volodymyr Zelenskyy in The Hague, Netherlands, as of this writing? No, that's not true: The image was created by an art group that posts their work on Instagram purportely in random locations worldwide, but there is no evidence that the graffiti is where the group claims it is. The location shown in this image is…

Did "Call of Duty" game maker Activision post a tweet mocking the Russian military, apologizing to gamers for using Russia as an antagonist and saying it should have built games around a more competent army, such as that of Cuba or Laos? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Activision ever posted such a tweet. The claim appeared…