Did special counsel John Durham unveil President Joe Biden's "Russian plot," aimed at getting Hillary Clinton elected in 2024? No, that's not true: Durham has said no such thing. A post making the claim includes various Newsmax clips as supposed support for its statement, but the clips do not corroborate the allegation. They are unrelated to it. The claim appeared…
Did the Ukrainian military fire a missile at the Kerch bridge in Russian-occupied Crimea, taking out a convoy of Russian tanks? No, that's not true: The video with this claim says the damage was caused by a truck that exploded on the bridge on October 8, 2022, and makes no mention of tanks. The claim appeared in a Facebook post…
Did a video circulating on social media depict the collapse of an orphanage in Kyiv after a Russian drone attack on October 10, 2022? No, that's not true. The video in a claim does not show an orphanage collapsing in Kyiv. The footage shows the collapse of the World Trade Center 7 skyscraper in New York City on September 11,…
Did Germany declare war on Russia on October 11, 2022? No, that's not true. There are no credible reports or official statements confirming this claim. Even a video posted on Facebook with a headline asserting that Germany had declared war on Russia provided no information about a formal declaration of war nor anything else that would substantiate such a claim.…
Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy use green screen technology, lots of editing and help from Hollywood to produce propaganda to "make things appear real"? No, that's not true: This photo shows a studio that created a hologram of Zelenskyy to deliver an address to audiences at four tech festivals in Europe on June 15, 2022. The hologram was not a…
Did the military arrest the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink? No, that's not true: Real Raw News, the website that posted the story, has a disclaimer saying that their articles are "humor, parody and satire." The site has a history of posting false stories of arrests and executions of government officials, celebrities and well-known public figures. Also, the Posse…
Did the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Gen. Valery Zaluzhnyi, wear a bracelet with a Nazi insignia? No, that's not true: The motifs and clasp on his bracelet resemble a design series that is marketed as a Viking Bracelet, and the charm in question is called a Solomon's knot. It is an ancient design that has been used…
Did BBC war correspondent Jeremy Bowen pretend to be dodging Russian bullets during an attack on Irpin, Ukraine, while local residents safely went about their business? No, that's not true: The claim is based on an out-of-context still image cut from Bowen's video report from the early days of fighting in Ukraine. His focus: people who were evacuating Irpin under…
Was a Ukraine ID card in the name of "Semen Hydenko" (or Samuyil Hydenko) found at the scene of the October 8, 2022, explosion on the bridge linking Crimea to Russia? No, that's not true: The spoof ID card shown in online messages has the face of American comedian Sam Hyde on it. In a bizarre internet in-joke, Hyde is…
Did Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical weekly, mock Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by portraying him on its cover as "an obedient dog" eating out of a "European" dog dish? No, that's not true. The publication has stated that this cover image and two similar ones circulating online are fake. The weekly now charges that "Russian propagandists" on Telegram "are creating…
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