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PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

War & conflict fact checks

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

5,847 published reviews in this topic

Fact CrescendoWar & conflict

Claim: Austria video falsely shared with Russian Ukraine conflict narrative

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The post claimed that a video of people lying in plastic bags showed Ukrainians pretending to be dead after Russian attacks in order to win sympathy. The review says a Facebook user posted it on March 3, 2022, with a caption alleging that the scene was staged for Ukrainian television. The video itself also showed people holding a banner marked “Demo Gegen klimapolitik,” which prompted the reviewers to investigate whether it depicted a protest instead. The reviewers used Google Translate to identify the banner’s German wording as referring to a protest against climate policy. They then searched for the video and report that it had been uploaded to YouTube on February 4, 2022. Using information from that video, they searched for contemporaneous news reports and found coverage of a protest in Vienna, Austria’s capital. Those reports described 49 people lying as if dead to call for stronger policies to address climate change. This evidence places the footage at a climate protest, rather than a scene in Ukraine or evidence of Russian casualties. The review concludes that the video was misleadingly presented as showing Ukrainians staging deaths to attract sympathy over the Russian attack. Its stated checking steps connect the banner’s text, the video’s upload date, and reports about the Vienna protest; the supplied excerpt does not identify the individual news reports by name.

dpaWar & conflict

Video toont een hoop lijken van "gesneuvelde militairen", die eigenlijk acteurs zijn.

Publisher’s rating: De video werd in realiteit gemaakt bij de opnames van een videoclip van een Russische rapper. Deze verscheen in september 2020. Het heeft dan ook niets te maken met gesneuvelde militairen in 2022.

The claim presents a video of bodies in bags in a truck as showing actors pretending to be soldiers killed in the 2022 conflict. The review identifies the clip by its distinctive scene: one of the apparent bodies is seen smoking, and the video was shared with a comment about fallen soldiers and a reference to the conflict in Ukraine. The investigation says the footage was instead made during production of a music video by Russian rapper Husky. The review traces the footage to an original TikTok video posted through the account @vasyaivanovdesign. Its description included the terms “video shoot,” “rapper,” “Husky” and “backstage,” which the review uses to establish the production context. It also reports that the TikTok poster, Ivanov, was a production designer for the shoot, as indicated in the credits. The music video was for Husky’s song “Nooit” (“Никогда-нибудь” in Russian), and the truck scene also appears in that video. The review dates the music video’s YouTube release to September 2020, well before the claim’s framing of the footage as showing military deaths in 2022. The evidence therefore identifies the clip as behind-the-scenes material from a music-video production, rather than footage of actors staging the deaths of soldiers in the current conflict.

Fact Crescendo CambodiaWar & conflict

ភរិយារបស់អនុប្រធានាធិបតីអ៊ុយក្រែន និងក្មេងស្រីទាំងនេះគឺជាទាហានអ៊ុយក្រែននៅជួរមុខការពារប្រទេសរបស់ពួកគេជាមួយនឹងកាំភ្លើងនៅក្នុងដៃរបស់ពួកគេក្នុងការប្រឈមមុខនឹងការឈ្លានពានរបស់រុស្ស៊ី។

Publisher’s rating: False

Fact Crescendo CambodiaWar & conflict

ដល់ម៉ោងជម្លៀសខ្លួនជនស៊ីវិល ស្រាប់តែមានការបំផ្ទុះ បណ្ដាលឱ្យមនុស្ស ២០០នាក់ត្រូវកប់ក្រោមគំនរបាក់បែក ------- ការបំផ្ទុះអគារមួយបានកើតឡើងនៅប៉ុន្មាននាទីមុននេះ ខណៈកំពុងជម្លៀសជនស៊ីវិលចេញពីតំបន់ Mariupol ស្របនឹងកិច្ចព្រមព្រៀងបទឈប់បាញ់រវាង រុស្ស៊ី និង អ៊ុយក្រែន ​កំពុងចាប់ផ្ដើមអនុវត្ត។ ក្រុមសកម្មប្រយុទ្ធ អ៊ុយក្រែន មកពីកងវរសេនាតូច “Azov” បានទម្លាក់គ្រាប់បែកបណ្តាលឱ្យអគារនៅមហាវិថី Meotida ក្នុងទីក្រុង Mariupol ដួលរលំ បណ្តាលឱ្យមនុស្សរហូតដល់ ២០០នាក់ រួមទាំងកុមារដែលកំពុងលាក់ខ្លួននៅក្នុងបន្ទប់ក្រោមដី ត្រូវកប់នៅក្រោមគំនរបាក់បែក។ មុននេះ ក្រសួងការពារជាតិរុស្ស៊ីបានប្រកាសបទឈប់បាញ់ចាប់ពីម៉ោងចាប់ពីម៉ោង ១០ ​ព្រឹក ម៉ោងនៅមូស្គូ ​ដើម្បីអនុញ្ញាតឱ្យជនស៊ីវិលជម្លៀសចេញពីតំបន់ Mariupol និងតំបន់ Volnovakha ។ យោងតាមឧបនាយករដ្ឋមន្ត្រីអ៊ុយក្រែន បានឱ្យដឹងថា មនុស្សរហូតដល់ ២សែននាក់ ត្រូវបានគេរំពឹងថានឹងត្រូវបានជម្លៀសចេញពីទីក្រុង Mariupol បន្ទាប់ពីម៉ោង ១២:០០ ម៉ោងក្នុងស្រុក។ ប៉ុន្តែពេលនេះ DPR និយាយថា អ្នកជាតិនិយមអ៊ុយក្រែនបាននិងកំពុងបដិសេធមិនឱ្យអ្នកស្រុក Mariupol ប្រើប្រាស់ច្រករបៀងជម្លៀសខ្លួននោះទេ។ Up to 200 still missing under Gaza's rubble | The Electronic Intifada ក្នុងហេតុការណ៍នេះដែរ រុស្ស៊ីបានសង្កត់ធ្ងន់ថា អ្នកជាតិនិយមអ៊ុយក្រែនបាននិងកំពុងរារាំងជនស៊ីវិល រួមទាំងស្ត្រី និងកុមារ ក៏ដូចជាពលរដ្ឋបរទេសមិនឱ្យចាកចេញពីតំបន់ដែលរងផលប៉ះពាល់ដោយការប្រយុទ្ធគ្នា ហើយបានប្រើប្រាស់ជនស៊ីវិលទាំងនោះ ជាចំណាប់ខ្មាំង៕ ប្រែសម្រួល៖ សន្យា ប្រភព៖ Sputnik

Publisher’s rating: Missing Context

dpaWar & conflict

Deze kaart toont locaties van NAVO-uitvalbasissen.

Publisher’s rating: Van de in totaal 31 aangeduide 'NAVO-uitvalsbasissen' liggen er slechts 13 effectief in een NAVO-lidstaat. Militaire basissen van NAVO kunnen zich enkel in lidstaten bevinden, of landen waar een missie loopt. Dat is momenteel enkel het geval in Irak en Kosovo. De kaart is dan ook grotendeels fout.

APA - Austrian Presse AgenturWar & conflict

Das Foto von den Menschenmassen am Bahnhof in Charkiw ist nicht echt.

Publisher’s rating: Es gibt keine Anzeichen, dass es sich um eine Bildfälschung handelt. Der Ort lässt sich verifizieren und der Zeitraum einschränken. Unklarheit herrscht allerdings darüber, wer das Foto aufgenommen hat.

The image at issue shows a crowd on a platform at Kharkiv railway station and circulated as a photograph of people fleeing the city during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The review checked whether this particular image was manipulated and whether its location and timing could be established. It reports that recognizable station features—the building façade on the right, a distinctive square display board, platform numbering and buildings with rounded roofs—also appear in Google Maps images of the station. This supports identifying the location as Kharkiv station, rather than showing that the photograph was fabricated. The review could narrow the likely period, but not establish an exact date. Some people in the image wear face masks, which the review says would have been unusual before the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020; clothing suggests winter. It says investigators could not establish that the image had circulated in winter 2021 or find an event then that would explain such a crowd. The supplied evidence therefore supports a broad timing assessment, not a precise date for the photograph. The review also describes checks for visual manipulation: forensic tools showed no anomalies, and investigators found no duplications or inconsistencies. That evidence addresses whether the image appears altered; it does not settle who took it. Several social-media posts credited different people or outlets, but the review says it could not verify those attributions. An Instagram post dated March 5 was already circulating the image, yet its user denied taking it; the review also could not verify an attribution to Andriy Tsaplienko. The excerpt does not establish the photographer or original source.

dpaWar & conflict

Duitse humanitaire hulp voor Oekräine wordt gedumpt aan de kant van de weg en niet aangenomen, de vrachtwagens vervoeren en leveren ook wapens.

Publisher’s rating: De posts missen context. Het ging om een Duitse inzamelingsactie die naar de Pools-Oekraïense grens werd gebracht. Er werd gevraagd om geen kleding te doneren, hetgeen toch massaal gedaan werd. Die kleding vertrok niet mee naar Oekraïne maar werd verbrand. De geschikte donaties kwamen wel aan op hun bestemming. Er was geen transport van wapens.

BR24 FaktenfuchsWar & conflict

Sachspenden für die Ukraine würden in der Oberpfalz weggeschmissen, ein Foto soll dies beweisen.

Publisher’s rating: Es stimmt, dass in Auerbach in der Oberpfalz teilweise Sachspenden für die Ukraine entsorgt wurden. Dabei handelt es sich jedoch um unbrauchbare Sachspenden, hauptsächlich Kleidungsstücke wie beispielsweise benutzte Unterwäsche, Bikinis, Badeschlappen oder Hochzeitskleider. Das Foto, welches in den sozialen Netzwerken kursiert, stammt aus Auerbach in der Oberpfalz und wurde im Rahmen eines Hilfskonvois für die Ukraine aufgenommen. Die Organisatoren transportierten mehr als 200 Tonnen Hilfsgüter (u.a. Medikamente und Nahrungsmittel) an die polnisch-ukrainische Grenze. Nicht brauchbare Spenden wurden im Anschluss zusammen mit großen Mengen von Verpackungsmüll entsorgt.

FACTLYWar & conflict

Photo collage of Terrorist Farooq Ahmed Dar

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The claim concerns a collage of four photographs said to show Farooq Ahmed Dar, also known as Bitta Karate. FACTLY examined the images and concluded that the person pictured in all four is Yasin Malik, a Kashmiri separatist leader and chief of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), rather than Dar. The article distinguishes the two men: it describes Dar as a member of the JKLF, but says that does not make him the person shown in the collage. The investigation reports using reverse image searches on the four photographs, proceeding clockwise from the upper-left image. It says those searches identified the pictured person as Malik. The article then supplies image-specific context: the photograph with Manmohan Singh was taken during a meeting in New Delhi in February 2006; the one with Arundhati Roy shows her shaking hands with Malik in New Delhi in 2005; and the photograph with Farooq Abdullah was available at least as early as 2006 and showed Abdullah meeting Malik. These identifications and dates support the review’s conclusion that the collage’s subject is not Dar.