War & conflict fact checks

52% Francuzów wierzy w przynajmniej jedną z propagandowych tez Rosji dotyczących genezy wojny w Ukrainie, ale nigdzie nie wskazują, że jest to równoznaczne z poparciem strony Rosji lub Ukrainy.

Publisher’s rating: Fałsz

Ukraiński wywiad twierdzi, że rosyjski program BARS-2021 rekrutuje przestępców do wojska.

Publisher’s rating: Nieweryfikowalne

Russisches Fernsehen verbreitet angeblich ukrainische Fakes mit präparierten Schaufensterpuppen als Leichen

Publisher’s rating: Unwahr. Die Aufnahmen zeigen Vorbereitungen für eine ukrainische Fernsehsendung. Das russische Fernsehen verbreitet eine Lüge.

រុស្ស៊ី​លើក​ទ័ព​ចូល​រំដោះ​អ៊ុយក្រែន ទ័ព​រុស្ស៊ី​ដឹក​ម៉ាស៊ីន​បោក​ខោ​អាវ​ពេល​ចាក​ចេញ​ពី​អ៊ុយក្រែន ធ្វើ​ឱ្យ​យើង​នឹក​ឃើញ​ពេល​វៀតណាម​លើក​ទ័ព​រំដោះ​ខ្មែរ គេ​ដឹក​ម៉ាស៊ីន​ដេរ រថយន្ត​អស់​ពី​ឃ្លាំង ទ្រព្យ​សម្បត្តិ​ខ្មែរ​ដែល​របប ប៉ុល ពត ប្រមូល​ទុក​ក្នុង​ឃ្លាំង​ត្រូវ​បាន​វៀតណាម​ដឹក​ជញ្ជូន​ជាង ២០​ឆ្នាំ រួម​ទាំង​មាស​ប្រាក់​នៅ​ក្នុង​ធនាគារ​ជាតិ អស់​ពី​ប្រទេស​ខ្មែរ នៅ​សល់​តែ​ប្រាសាទ​អង្គរ​វត្ត​ដែល​វៀតណាម​មិន​អាច​គាស់​ដឹក​យក​ទៅ​ប្រទេស​គេបាន តែ​គេ​រក​មធ្យោបាយ​ដាក់ សុខ គង់ ឱ្យ​លក់​សំបុត្រ​ប្រមូល​យក​លុយ​ពី​ភ្ញៀវ​ទេសចរណ៍​ចូល​ទស្សនា​ប្រាសាទ​អង្គរ​បាន​ទៀត អរគុណ​សន្តិភាព! នេះ​ជា​ការ​ពិត​មិន​មែន​ញុះ​ញង់​ទេ បើ​ចង់​ដឹង​សួរ ហ៊ុន សែន, ហេង សំរិន, ស ខេង គាត់​ជា​សាក្សី​រស់។

Publisher’s rating: Altered

القوات الروسية تلقي القبض على الجنرال الأمريكي روجر إل كلوتير في أوكرانيا

Publisher’s rating: كذب

Deze straat in Lviv/Kiev is bekleed met nazivlaggen.

Publisher’s rating: In realiteit bevindt de straat zich in het centrum van Sofia, Bulgarije. De nazivlaggen waren onderdeel van een filmset voor een Franse biopic die in 2013 uitkwam. Er is dus helemaal geen connectie met Oekraïne of de huidige oorlog.

The photo was circulated with different location claims: some posts placed the snowy, flag-lined street in Lviv, while others said it was in Kyiv. The review’s investigation identifies the pictured street as being in central Sofia, Bulgaria, rather than in either Ukrainian city. It says the flags were present as part of a film set, so the image does not document Nazi flags displayed on a Ukrainian street during the war. [S1]

CNN telecasted footage of firefighters in Canada as Ukrainian war visuals

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerned CNN footage of Ukrainian firefighters whose jackets bore the word “Edmonton.” Viral posts treated that detail as evidence that CNN had shown Canadian footage as wartime visuals from Ukraine. The review examined that specific screenshot and identified the footage as coverage of the Russian attack on Lviv, a city in western Ukraine. The key piece of context was that Edmonton gear did not mean the firefighters or footage were from Canada. The review reports that the protective equipment had been donated to Ukrainian firefighters by Firefighter Aid Ukraine, an Edmonton-based nonprofit. It says the organization’s director confirmed the donation and that the organization also addressed it in Facebook posts. The review describes checking those posts and searching for earlier reports about the donations. It says news reports from 2017 documented Edmonton firefighters donating protective gear and other equipment to Ukrainian firefighters, and that multiple news agencies reported founder Kevin Royle confirming the jackets had been donated. That evidence supports the distinction between the equipment’s Canadian origin and the footage’s Ukrainian location: the jackets came from Edmonton, while the CNN visuals were from Lviv.

ලංකාවේ අර්බුදකාරී තත්වය අතරතුර ඉන්දියන් හමුදාවත් ලංකාවට ?

Publisher’s rating: False

The claim concerned social-media posts alleging that Indian troops had been sent to Sri Lanka amid the country’s crisis. A widely shared message described three aircraft carrying soldiers arriving in Colombo, gave figures for troops from different Indian units, and also claimed that a warship was heading to Colombo with 4,500 troops. The review identifies these as claims circulating on WhatsApp and among Tamil-language Facebook users, not as verified reports of arrivals. To check the allegations, Fact Crescendo says it looked for reports of an emergency Indian troop deployment in mainstream media but found none. It then sought comment from India’s High Commission in Colombo, which said the posts were “completely false and baseless.” The review also reports denials from the Air Force spokesperson and Defence Secretary Kamal Gunaratne, who said the alleged arrival had not occurred. The review concludes that the social-media claim was false, citing the High Commission’s response and Sri Lankan defence authorities’ statements. Its account does not describe independent examination of flight or ship records; the evidence it presents is the absence of mainstream-media reporting and the reported official denials.

Der Zustand der Leichen in Butscha bestätigt, dass die Fotos und Videoaufnahmen eine Produktion des Kiewer Regimes für die westlichen Medien sind.

Publisher’s rating: Weder fehlende Leichenflecken noch eine nicht erkennbare Leichenstarre sind ein Beleg für eine «Inszenierung». Aus medizinischen Gründen sind diese nicht ohne Weiteres zu sehen. Die in der Jablunska-Straße gefilmten Leichen lagen schon dort, als russische Einheiten die Stadt noch besetzt hielten.

The claim concerns footage of bodies in Bucha, particularly on Yablunska Street, and the allegation that the Kyiv regime staged the images for Western media. The review examined the argument attributed to Russia’s Defence Ministry: that bodies shown in the images lacked lividity and rigor mortis, supposedly proving a staged scene. It reports that the German Press Agency assessed recent photographs and videos from Yablunska Street and asked Benjamin Ondruschka, director of forensic medicine at the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, to analyze some of them. Ondruschka explained why the visual arguments do not establish staging. Lividity forms on the parts of a body that are down when a person dies; a person who dies on their back would develop it there, not necessarily on the face visible in footage. The review also reports his explanation that rigor mortis cannot simply be judged from images: it must be examined on the body, and an unmoved body may retain its position for a long time. He considered the appearance described in the footage possible under local weather conditions, even after at least two weeks. The review also checked the timing and location evidence. It reports that images of bodies in Bucha were posted on social media by April 1, rather than first appearing four days after Russian forces’ claimed March 30 withdrawal. Maxar satellite imagery available to the agency showed many bodies at the same roadside locations by at least March 18. These findings place the bodies before the footage’s public circulation and while Russian forces were still reported to control or occupy the town; they do not support the claim that the images themselves prove staging.

Die leblosen Körper in Butscha sind erst vier Tage nach dem Abzug der russischen Truppen bekannt geworden.

Publisher’s rating: Der stellvertretende Bürgermeister und der Bürgermeister von Butscha sprachen am 1. und 2. April von Leichen auf den Straßen. Auch die AP nahm am 2. April bereits mehrere Bilder von Opfern in Zivilkleidung auf. Zumindest seit dem 1. April kursieren zudem auf Twitter mehrere Videos von leblosen Körpern. Eine Leichenstarre ist mit bloßem Auge nicht erkennbar. Leichenflecken entstehen dort, wo die Leiche auf dem Boden aufliegt. US-Satellitenbilder bestätigen, dass einige der gefundenen Leichen schon vor Abzug der russischen Truppen dort lagen.

Die Kanzlerakte beweist, dass die Nato den Krieg gegen Russland geplant hat.

Publisher’s rating: Die angebliche «Kanzlerakte» ist eine Fälschung, die schon seit Jahren im Internet kursiert.

The claim links two assertions: that NATO planned a war against Russia and that Chancellor Olaf Scholz was forced to approve that plan in January. The cited proof is a purported document called the “Kanzlerakte.” The review treats the document—not evidence of a NATO war plan—as the central object to examine, and reports that it is a forgery that had circulated online for years. The document is dated May 21, 1949, and is presented as if it were official. The review points to its assertions that the victorious powers of World War II retained control over German media until 2099 and that each new chancellor had to sign the document. It also reports an earlier response from the Federal Press Office, issued on Angela Merkel’s behalf after a citizen-platform question: the alleged secret treaty belongs to legend, does not exist, and Merkel was not required to sign a “Kanzlerakte” before taking her oath. These details undermine the document’s claimed status as proof of a binding order or plan. The review separately distinguishes sanctions preparation from preparation for war. Scholz said sanctions against Russia had been planned over several months, and he had said in February that possible US and EU sanctions were well prepared as the prospect of a Russian attack on Ukraine became clearer. Russia began its attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The review also notes that Ukraine was not a NATO member and that NATO was not intervening militarily; some NATO countries were supplying military equipment. This account does not support treating sanctions planning or aid to Ukraine as proof that NATO had planned a war against Russia.

2.500 chars russes détruits en Ukraine.

Publisher’s rating: Les Russes subissent de très importantes pertes, en effectifs et en matériel, depuis le 24 février en Ukraine. Mais, de toutes sources indépendantes, le chiffre avancé par l’internaute est très largement exagéré.

The claim came from a French-language Facebook post, dated April 4, which said that more than 2,500 Russian tanks had been destroyed in Ukraine and used photographs of burned-out vehicles as support. The review compared that figure with Ukrainian military announcements and a separate count of visually or otherwise documented equipment losses. The Ukrainian army’s figures did not support the post’s number. Its announcement said Russian forces had lost 676 tanks by the morning of April 5, 2022, as well as 1,858 “armored vehicles”—a separate category, not tanks. The review notes that the Ukrainian figures did not distinguish vehicles that were destroyed from those damaged, abandoned, or captured, so the broader loss totals cannot be treated as a count of tanks destroyed. The review also cites Oryx, which it describes as recording losses only when supported by images or verified testimony and distinguishing among types of loss. Oryx counted 425 Russian tanks put out of service since February 24: 201 destroyed, 6 damaged, 42 abandoned, and 176 captured. Thus, the documented destroyed-tank count was far below 2,500. The review says the claimed number would amount to between a quarter and a fifth of Russia’s total tank inventory; its comparison indicates the post overstated the number of tanks destroyed, even while Russian personnel and equipment losses were substantial.

Une vidéo prouve que les évènements à Boutcha ont été mis en scène, car on aperçoit des corps bouger.

Publisher’s rating: La vidéo en question ne prouve absolument pas que les images immortalisées à Boutcha ont été mises en scène. Les soi-disant mouvements observés sont des illusions d’optique créées par une trace sur un pare-brise et par la distorsion d’un rétroviseur. Cela est clairement visible dans des vidéos de meilleure qualité. La présence de corps à Boutcha a par ailleurs été documentée par des journalistes indépendants qui se sont rendus sur place.

De video van de burgemeester van Boetsja is het bewijs dat het bloedbad een hoax is

Publisher’s rating: De bewering is onjuist. De video met de burgemeester kan niet als bewijs worden gezien dat de situatie in Boetsja ‘in scène’ zou zijn gezet. De burgemeester sprak inderdaad over 31 maart 2022 als de dag die de geschiedenis in zal gaan als de bevrijding van de gemeente. Dat hij hierbij niet sprak over doden, is zeker geen bewijs dat die er niet waren. In een video die eerder dan deze boodschap werd geplaatst, vernoemde de gemeente dat wel al. Bovendien is op satellietbeelden te zien dat sommige lichamen op straat daar al weken lagen, onder de Russische bezetting.

Die Aufnahmen aus Butscha seien gefälscht oder gestellt.

Publisher’s rating: Die Behauptung, in einem Video aus Butscha würden sich zwei der Körper auf der Straße von Butcha noch bewegen, ist falsch. Hier handelt es sich wohl um optische Täuschungen. Satellitenbilder zeigen, dass die Leichen bereits am 18. März auf der Straße lagen - also zu einem Zeitpunkt, als die Stadt noch von russischem Militär kontrolliert wurde.

ජාතික කොඩිය අතැතිව උද්ඝෝෂණයේ යෙදෙන පුද්ගලයකුට වෙඩි තැබීම යුධ අපරාධයක් ද ?

Publisher’s rating: Misleading

The review examines a social-media message urging Sri Lankans to carry the national flag at protests. The message claimed that the military could not shoot someone holding the flag and that doing so would be a war crime. The review consulted several Sri Lankan lawyers and the police media spokesperson about whether such a rule existed and what authority the military had in protest-related situations. The lawyers did not describe a legal immunity for national-flag bearers. Harendra Banagala said he could find no military-law rule prohibiting a shot solely because a person held the flag; he also said the military had no authority to shoot at protests whether or not protesters carried it. Kalinga Indratissa said no such provision appeared under martial law, while Nuwan Bopage said the claimed rule did not exist. The review also reports that Upul Kumarapperuma found no such provision in the Army Act. The important distinction is between the national flag and a white flag used to signal surrender or a truce. The review says the legal discussion it consulted concerned misuse of a white flag, not a national flag. Bopage described firing on someone attempting to surrender with a white flag in wartime as a potential war-crime issue; that does not establish the viral message’s claim about a protester holding Sri Lanka’s national flag. The police media spokesperson also said he was unaware of the claimed rule. On the evidence presented, the message falsely treats the national flag as legal protection and conflates it with the separate white-flag issue.

المجزرة التي وقعت في مدينة بوتشا بالقرب من كييف "مفبركة"

Publisher’s rating: تضليل

De lijken in Boetsja zijn crisisacteurs.

Publisher’s rating: De video uit Boetsja toont niet dat de lijken in de stad bewegen. Het gaat om oneffenheden op de voorruit en vervorming in een achteruitkijkspiegel die deze illusie wekken. In video's van hogere kwaliteit is dit duidelijk te zien.

The claim concerns footage filmed from a vehicle driving through Boetsja, where social-media posts said apparent movements proved that bodies in the streets were crisis actors. The review identifies the footage as coming from Ukrainian news outlet Espreso.tv and says versions shared online were edited: sections were omitted and other parts slowed down. Those edits made it appear that a hand waved and that a body rose in the vehicle’s rear-view mirror. The review’s examination of the claim is therefore specific to what the footage appears to show; it does not treat the edited clip alone as proof of who the victims were or who killed them. «De gedeelde video (van Twitter, de video op Facebook is korter) komt van de Oekraïense nieuwswebsite Espreso.tv, dat verslag doet na de gruweldaden in Boetsja. Het zijn beelden gefilmd vanuit een wagen die door de straten van Boetsja rijdt.» «Deze beelden worden echter bewerkt gedeeld op sociale media. Zo worden bepaalde delen weggelaten en andere delen vertraagd. Dit wekt de illusie dat op 00:02 (van de Twitter-video) een lijk met zijn hand zou zwaaien en op 00:10 een lijk overeind zou komen, zichtbaar in de achteruitkijkspiegel nadat de wagen is voorbijgereden.» To check the apparent movements, the review compares the edited posts with a complete, higher-quality version shared by Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence and describes what is visible there: the supposed waving hand is a droplet or uneven spot on the windscreen, while the apparent rising of a body in the mirror is caused by the mirror’s curvature. It also notes that social-media image compression compounds the distortion. On that evidence, the footage does not establish that the bodies moved or were actors. «Het Oekraïense ministerie van Defensie deelde een volledige versie van de video in hogere kwaliteit, waarop te zien is dat het slechts om optische illusies gaat. Hier is op 00:10 te zien dat de zwaaiende hand in feite een druppel of oneffenheid op de voorruit van de wagen is.» «Het lichaam dat zichtbaar is in de achteruitkijkspiegel (00:47) beweegt ook niet. De illusie dat de persoon rechtkomt, wordt gewekt door de bolling van de spiegel.» «BBC-journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh merkt op dat boven deze vervorming ook nog de beeldcompressie van sociale media bijkomt.»

Gebalde vuist toont dat lichamen in Boetsja geen lijken kunnen zijn.

Publisher’s rating: Het bericht klopt niet. Bij geen van de gebogen vingers op de foto’s lijken de spieren nog aangespannen te zijn. Deutsche Presse-Agentur sprak bovendien met een forensisch expert die "geen enkele aanleiding" heeft om aan te nemen dat de personen op de foto’s nog in leven zijn. Ook geeft hij aan dat vingers na overlijden in gebogen positie kunnen blijven.

El video en el que se ven cadáveres tirados en una calle es en Bucha, Ucrania

Publisher’s rating: Auténtico