Fact checks

Polish-speaking bots on social media platforms falsely passed off China's Wintastar Shanghai ski resort as one in Kyiv Polish-speaking bots on social media platforms have spread disinformation, falsely claiming the opening of an indoor ski resort in Kyiv. The video, circulated on X and TikTok, is captioned: "No, this is not Dubai. A ski lift has opened in Kyiv - Protasiv Yar. Meanwhile, in Poland, electricity and food prices are rising, so they could have fun in Kyiv." This is a fake. The video actually shows Wintastar Shanghai, the world's largest indoor ski resort, which opened in Shanghai this September.…

Kyiv Police exposed two civilians who were begging outside a shopping mall in Kyiv’s Darnytsia district, posing as war veterans. That’s according to the Kyiv Police, Ukrinform reported. “During social media monitoring, law enforcers saw an Instagram video where two men, one with signs of disability, and the other sporting military uniform without insignia, asking people for money outside a shopping center in Darnytsia district, introducing themselves as former soldiers. When speaking with the author of the video, who is an actual war veteran, the two men complained about the alleged lack of social payments, which they claimed forced them…

Russian propagandists have created a fake video, allegedly from the French TV channel TF1, to mislead Western audiences Russian Telegram channels are circulating screenshots, purportedly from a TF1 news program, showing graffiti depicting French President Emmanuel Macron, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, and a dog on a leash, supposedly with the face of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. This is a fake. The photo was manipulated using a graphics editor, with a fabricated caricature of Zelensky added. To give the image a sense of "authenticity," propagandists inserted the TF1 logo and icons commonly used in the channel's TF1 Info Shorts section, which…

Russian propagandists turned to TikTok as a platform to spread disinformation aimed at inciting divisions within Ukrainian society Russian media outlets and Telegram channels are circulating a video of an unidentified girl on TikTok who claims that the Verkhovna Rada has allegedly passed a law "obliging" all female citizens in Ukraine named Tetiana to change their names to Horpyna from January 1. Failure to comply, she claims, will result in fines and "even imprisonment." This false information has spread rapidly on the Chinese-owned TikTok platform and has already caused outrage among some women on the platform. This claim is entirely…

Propagandists manipulated speech by former Dutch MEP affiliated with pro-Russian Forum for Democracy (FvD) party Russian media outlets, Telegram channels, and bots on platforms such as X, Facebook, and YouTube are disseminating a distorted narrative based on a speech delivered in the European Parliament by former Dutch MEP Marcel de Graaff. A member of the pro-Russian Forum for Democracy (FvD) party, de Graaff claimed that Ukrainian children abducted by Russia were "refugees" who had suffered from "Ukrainian bombardment." In his speech, he called on the International Court of Justice in The Hague to withdraw the arrest warrant for Russian President…

Propagandists fabricated video featuring morning show broadcast on Sacramento-based TV channel Pro-Kremlin media outlets, Telegram channels, and YouTube bots are circulating a manipulated video falsely claiming that journalists from an American TV channel laughed during a live program about the combat losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This claim is entirely fabricated. The video features hosts from Good Day Sacramento, a morning show broadcast on the local TV channel KMAX, part of the CBS News network. However, Good Day Sacramento is an entertainment program focusing on lighthearted reports about city events, with no discussions of political or military topics. Russian…

Russian propagandists are attempting to discredit President Volodymyr Zelensky and undermine the significance of his visit to France in the eyes of Western audiences. Russian and Hungarian media outlets, along with pro-war Telegram channels and bots on the social media platform X, have been circulating a video purportedly showing a meeting between President Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron during the reopening of the reconstructed Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. In the video, during what appears to be NBC's live broadcast of the ceremony, an advertisement for a fictional television show titled "Great Thieves of the 21st Century" allegedly aired as…

Propagandists fabricated a video purportedly produced by an American TV channel and created a cloned hotel website Russian propaganda continues to fabricate stories targeting Western audiences, alleging illicit enrichment of senior Ukrainian officials and their families. This time, Russian media, pro-war Telegram channels, and bots on social media platforms like X and TikTok spread a video supposedly created by "French journalists." The video falsely claims that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, through a company called Film Heritage Inc., purchased the five-star Palace des Neiges hotel in the exclusive Courchevel ski resort in France for EUR 88 million. This video is entirely…

Propagandists used fabricated stories and repurposed photos of deceased Ukrainian heroines, falsely portraying them as foreign fighters Pro-Russian propaganda channels have recently circulated false claims that European female soldiers captured by Russia tortured Russian prisoners of war. These fabrications exploit the stories and photos of deceased Ukrainian heroines, misrepresenting them as foreign fighters. One such claim involves a supposed French sniper with the call sign "Whiskey." According to the propagandists, she was wounded by a Russian drone and captured near the village of Vishnevka in Russia's Kursk region. Russian propagandist Alexander Sladkov released an audio message "confirming" her capture, asserting…

Propagandists fabricated advertisement, falsely attributed to Polish school Russian media outlets, Telegram channels, Polish-language bots on X and Facebook, and accounts on Polish forums are spreading a photo purportedly taken in a Polish school. The photo features a board with a supposed announcement titled "Rules of Conduct for Schoolchildren from Ukraine," which allegedly includes directives such as "Speak only Polish" and "Stop praising Stepan Bandera." The photo is claimed to have been displayed in a school in Konstantynow Lodzki. This is a fake. Polish officials have denied the existence of such rules for Ukrainian schoolchildren. The education department in Konstantynow…