Skip to main content

PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

War & conflict fact checks

Explore claims publishers have checked about war & conflict. Read their original ratings and follow the evidence.

5,840 published reviews in this topic

Deutsche Presse-AgenturWar & conflict

Alle Meldungen über Vergewaltigungen durch russische Soldaten in der Ukraine waren frei erfunden.

Publisher’s rating: Medien und Menschenrechtsorganisationen haben mehrere Fälle von Vergewaltigung und sexuellem Missbrauch durch russische Soldaten dokumentiert. Experten gehen von einer hohen Dunkelziffer aus. Die Behauptung die Ukraine habe eingestanden, dass es keine Vergewaltigungsfälle gegeben habe, ist nicht belegt. Im Gegenteil: Die Generalstaatsanwältin der Ukraine sagte Ende Mai, dass ein erster Vergewaltigungsfall gegen einen russischen Soldaten bei Gericht eingereicht worden sei.

The claim arose from a blog post about the dismissal of Ukraine’s human-rights ombudswoman, Ljudmyla Denisova. The post argued that her removal meant she had invented reports of rape by Russian soldiers and that there were no confirmed cases. The review distinguishes what officials criticized Denisova for from the separate question of whether sexual violence had occurred: Parliament dismissed her on 31 May, while the stated main grounds concerned her humanitarian duties and time spent abroad. A lawmaker also accused her of making tactless and unsubstantiated statements, but the review says that this does not establish that every reported case was fabricated. The review cites reporting by the UN human-rights monitoring mission. Its head, Matilda Bogner, said the mission was still receiving reports of rape and other forms of sexual violence, and that it had documented cases during visits to towns north of Kyiv. The review also notes that stigma can discourage victims and their families from speaking out, which helps explain why experts expected the scale of abuse to become clearer over time. These reports concern allegations and documentation; they do not establish that every allegation was verified. The strongest numerical qualification in the review is the UN team’s accounting as of 3 June: it had received reports of 124 alleged cases of conflict-related sexual violence. A Washington Post account cited by the review said 24 had been confirmed, including 12 involving Russian forces or associated groups; other allegations were unverified, false or highly unlikely, or still under investigation. Thus, the evidence contradicts the sweeping assertion that all reports were invented, while also making clear that not every allegation had been confirmed. The review further reports that Ukraine’s prosecutor general said in late May that a first rape case against a Russian soldier had been submitted to court.

FACTLYWar & conflict

Ajit Doval’s Facebook post describing an Israeli solution to deal with terrorists

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The review examines a viral Facebook message attributed to National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. The message urged India to deal with terrorism by bombing terrorists, citing methods used in Israel and Russia. The specific question was whether Doval had actually posted or expressed those views—not whether the proposed approach was effective.

FACTLYWar & conflict

Recent video of two men brandishing guns and threatening people during the Kanpur violence

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned a video circulating as recent footage of two men brandishing guns and threatening people during violence in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. FACTLY’s review concluded that the footage instead showed an earlier incident in Dhaura Tanda town, in Bareilly district, and was unrelated to the Kanpur violence. The review says the video was filmed on 9 May 2021, during a dispute between two parties from the same community over the purchase of meat. To trace the footage, the review describes reverse-image searches of video screenshots. These led to a similar video posted by the Dainik Bhaskar UP-UK YouTube channel on 10 May 2021, which identified the scene as a Bareilly scuffle over meat purchases. The review also points to an Amar Ujala report and a Bareilly police tweet from 9 May 2021 as further evidence about the incident and its date. The review’s account of the dispute provides context for what the footage depicts: a shop owner reportedly told a tenant to vacate after accusing him of selling meat at higher prices; a scuffle followed, and the tenant’s relatives arrived with weapons and fired into the air. When the old footage later circulated linked to the Kanpur violence, Bareilly police clarified that it had nothing to do with the Kanpur riots. The evidence therefore identifies a different place, date and incident from the one claimed.

FactcrescendoWar & conflict

World War II Paratroopers sitting across from themselves in the same plane that dropped them into Normandy in 1944

Publisher’s rating: Misleading

The claim paired a black-and-white photograph with a color photograph and described them as World War II paratroopers sitting opposite themselves in the same plane that had taken them to Normandy in 1944. The review investigated the photographs’ provenance and whether they showed the same people, aircraft, and D-Day connection. For the black-and-white image, the review says it used a Google reverse-image search to locate the original image and its descriptions. Those descriptions identify British paratroops preparing for a mission in Holland, aboard a Dakota DC-3 (C-47), on 17 September 1944—not a flight to Normandy for D-Day. The review notes that the D-Day campaign had effectively concluded by the end of August, so the image does not depict the claimed Normandy operation. The color photograph was identified as a 2011 visit to Colchester’s Merville Barracks by 25 past and present members of the East Anglia branch of the Parachute Regimental Association, touring a restored World War II aircraft. The review says the men are not shown to be the same group as in the earlier image, and there is no evidence establishing that the aircraft was the same one. It also cautions that some individuals might have served in both D-Day operations and the photographs, but their names were not listed, so that possibility could not be verified. The images therefore do not establish the caption’s claim; the supported overlap is the Dakota/C-47 aircraft model.

dpaWar & conflict

In het Rode Kruis-kantoor in Marioepol zijn medische dossiers gevonden van kinderen waarin zij de 'gezonde organen' bijhouden en handleidingen voor het maken van wapens.

Publisher’s rating: In de video waar de verhalen op zijn gebaseerd wordt wel gesproken over dat er medische dossiers van kinderen zouden zijn gevonden, maar daar wordt geen enkel bewijs voor getoond. Over organen wordt niet expliciet gesproken. Het Rode Kruis verklaart dat zij deze dossiers niet hebben. In het kantoor liggen inderdaad handleidingen over wapens, maar die gaan over hoe je hier veilig mee om moet gaan en hoe ze onschadelijk gemaakt kunnen worden.

dpaWar & conflict

Das "Handbuch für Teilnehmer des ukrainisch-russischen Krieges" enthält Angriffspläne der Ukraine und wurde von zwei amerikanischen NGOs erstellt.

Publisher’s rating: Das Handbuch wird seit 2016 von einer ukrainischen Nicht-Regierungsorganisation (NGO) herausgegeben, um Veteranen und ukrainische Streitkräfte über ihre Rechte aufzuklären. Dass es von «amerikanischen Spezialisten» erstellt worden sei, ist falsch.

The claim combines two allegations about a handbook for Ukrainian service members: that it contains Ukrainian plans to attack Russia or Russian-occupied areas in Donbas, and that two American NGOs created it. The review identifies the material being discussed as a guide for Ukrainian soldiers and veterans, and says the video presents US organizations as having contributed to its contents. It distinguishes that allegation from what the handbook says about its purpose and authorship. The review reports that the Ukrainian NGO Legal Hundred began as a volunteer lawyers’ Facebook group in 2014, offering legal assistance to wounded participants in the Ukraine–Russia war. It says the handbook has been issued since 2016 in cooperation with the Ukrainian government, to explain service members’ and veterans’ rights and duties. On the alleged attack plans, the review’s conclusion is that there is no such material in the handbook; it describes the guide as serving veterans and their families. The American organizations’ logos do appear in a version shown in the video, but the review says they are identified as supporters, not creators. It specifies that the June 2021 version says it was developed and published with support from the National Endowment for Democracy and updated and printed with support from Freedom House. The review also compares editions: Freedom House is absent from the January 31, 2022 edition, and neither organization is named in the 2018 version found on the Ukrainian Ministry of Veterans Affairs website. These details support the distinction between providing support and creating the handbook.