Fact checks

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…

Russian propagandists are attempting to cover up crimes committed by Wagner Group in Africa by falsely attributing them to Ukraine Russian propaganda media outlets TASS and Sputnik, along with several media outlets from Africa, pro-war Telegram channels and bots on X, have been circulating a photo of a destroyed house in a village in Mali. The reports from Russian and Malian media outlets claim that the local anti-government group Jabhat al-Nusra (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate, is responsible for these attacks. According to these reports, the group allegedly used 120mm mines containing white phosphorus (a chemical weapon) that were supposedly transferred…

Russian propagandists are circulating a map and 'analysis' based on fake news and research Russian media outlets, including those in Central Asia, as well as Georgian networks, English-language pro-Russian websites, pro-war Telegram channels, Ukrainian collaborators in Russia, State Duma deputies, and bots on Facebook and YouTube, are sharing a map of Ukraine that excludes the temporarily occupied regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Crimea. The map falsely claims that Ukrainian agricultural land has been sold to companies from the United States, China, France, Saudi Arabia, Germany, and Ukrainian oligarchs. It also alleges that 23% of the land was sold…

Propagandists created fake screenshot from website of funeral services agency Recently, pro-Russian Telegram channels circulated a doctored screenshot, allegedly from the website of the Kyiv-based funeral agency "Vik." The fabricated ad claims the company provides "Cargo 200" (military code for transporting deceased personnel) services worldwide, listing Poland, Canada, Colombia, Taiwan, and Australia as the most popular destinations. The ad also falsely states that these services began in 2022. This claim is entirely false. First, the screenshot was created using a graphic editor. While the funeral agency indeed offers international transportation of deceased persons, its official website does not mention any…

Russian propagandists created counterfeit cover of renowned British magazine to disseminate nuclear threats aimed at Western audiences The counterfeit cover, circulated by Kremlin-controlled media outlets, Russian bots on X, and some Azerbaijani and Arab media platforms, features Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump against a backdrop of missiles and an explosion-filled sky. It includes the sensational caption "Apocalypse." According to these propagandists, the issue's supposed theme is that Western approval for Ukraine's long-range strikes deep into Russian territory marks "the beginning of World War III." However, this cover is completely fake. It is not available on The…

Russian propagandists have fabricated deepfake video falsely claiming to feature Ukrainian servicemen Russian propagandists have circulated a deepfake video alleging that Ukrainian servicemen from the 22nd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are dissatisfied with territorial defense forces for abandoning their positions, purportedly causing increased losses within the brigade. This fabricated video, initially shared on TikTok and later amplified by Russian Telegram channels, is part of an ongoing disinformation campaign. Recently, a video began circulating widely on the TikTok social media platform and later on Russian Telegram channels. The video claims to feature servicemen from the 22nd Separate…

Russian propagandists have attempted to undermine the achievement of Nataliia Hrabarchuk, a Ukrainian anti-aircraft gunner who successfully shot down an enemy cruise missile using an Igla MANPADS during a large-scale air attack on Ukraine in the early hours of November 17. This act of valor, praised by the Ukrainian Air Force Command and widely shared online, highlights the courage of Ukrainian defenders amid ongoing Russian aggression. In civilian life, Hrabarchuk was a preschool teacher. Since 2021, she has served as an anti-aircraft gunner with the Galicia-Volyn Radio Engineering Brigade under the Air Command West. However, her heroic feat has drawn…

Propagandists fabricated photos from OLX marketplace Russian propaganda has falsely claimed that a mobilized Ukrainian service member was allegedly given the uniform of a deceased Czech "mercenary." Russian Telegram channels shared the story alongside photos highlighting a chevron with the Czech flag and two purported bullet holes on a jacket. The propagandists alleged that the "Czech soldier" had been killed by Ukrainians he was serving with. This claim is entirely false. The uniform shown in the photos does not match the standard used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Ukraine's military personnel wear a five-color digital camouflage known as "pixel." In…

Russian propagandists created a news story from an unknown "Ukrainian newspaper" and then accused it of altering the photo of a Ukrainian soldier Russian media outlets, z-Telegram channels, bots on social network X and Reddit are spreading an alleged screenshot of a news story by an unnamed Ukrainian newspaper about a rehabilitation center for soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, illustrated with the photo of a wounded soldier. The Russian propagandists claim that the "newspaper" edited the photo with Photoshop adding the lower limb of a soldier who lost it in the war. They also claim that Ukrainian media outlets…

To amplify their disinformation, propagandists employed a 'pocket' foreign pseudo-journalist and fabricated a video purportedly linked to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) Russian media outlets and Telegram channels falsely claimed that after Republican Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election, Ukrainian soldiers began surrendering eight times more frequently. The sources for this disinformation included a post on X (formerly Twitter) by Irish "journalist" Chay Bowes, a doctored video attributed to the U.S. think tank ISW, and alleged "data" from Euronews. This claim is entirely false. Chay Bowes, portrayed as a journalist from Ireland, is in fact…