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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

FACTLYWar & conflict

Visuals of a fight between the forces of Russia and Ukraine

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns videos circulated as real footage of fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces during the ongoing crisis. FACTLY says some posts presented the clips as actual Russia–Ukraine visuals, while other posts identified them as game footage; it reports that viewers nevertheless misinterpreted them as real. The review’s conclusion applies to the posted videos it examined, not to all footage of the war.

FACTLYWar & conflict

Video of a fight between the forces of Russia and Ukraine (MiG-29 vs C-RAM)

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns a video presented as showing a fight between Russian and Ukrainian forces involving a MiG-29 and a C-RAM. FACTLY concluded that the clip was from the video game Arma 3, not footage of the Russia–Ukraine crisis. It says the video had “nothing to do with the ongoing crisis between Russia and Ukraine.” To investigate the clip’s origin, FACTLY reports searching the internet using keywords about the video. It says it found the same video streamed by Warpig Gaming, a Facebook page that streams gaming videos. The review also reports that, after the video went viral with a similar claim, its creator said in the comments that it was from Arma 3. FACTLY’s stated conclusion rests on that identification of the clip as game footage and its reported provenance, rather than evidence of an aerial fight between the countries’ forces. The review summarizes its finding as: “the posted video shows a clip from the ‘Arma 3’ game” and was falsely shared as visuals of the claimed fight.

Deutsche Presse-AgenturWar & conflict

In Dresden starben 1945 120.000 bis 150.000 Menschen.

Publisher’s rating: Wer von Hunderttausenden Toten spricht, übertreibt. Eine Kommission aus etwa einem Dutzend anerkannter Historiker stellte 2010 fest: Bei den Luftangriffen auf Dresden starben nicht mehr als 25 000 Menschen. Dass Leichen ohne jegliche Rückstände in großer Zahl verbrannten, schlossen die Experten aus.

Fact CrescendoWar & conflict

កូនយួនកំពុងអុកឡុកនគរខ្មែរ សម្លាប់ខ្មែរ បំផ្លាញខ្មែរ បំបែកបំបាក់ខ្មែរគ្រប់រូបភាព ហ៊ុនម៉ាណែតមិនត្រឹមតែបោសសម្អាតតែបក្សប្រឆាំងទេ សូម្បីអ្នកក្នុងបក្សវា ក៍វាបោសសម្អាតដែរ ក្នុងនោះដូចជា អតីតបក្សជាស៊ីម បក្សហេងសំរិន បក្សស ខេង គឺជាមុខសញ្ញាដែលវាត្រូវកម្ទេចទាំងអស់

Publisher’s rating: Altered

Deutsche Presse-AgenturWar & conflict

Nato-Truppen sind fast überall entlang der russischen Grenze stationiert.

Publisher’s rating: teilweise falsch

The review concerns a Facebook map that placed NATO logos at points around Russia and was used to suggest that alliance units were already present in nearly all countries bordering Russia. The investigation distinguishes actual NATO territory and forces from U.S. military locations and partnerships that the map also portrayed as NATO presence. It reports that NATO had 30 member states in spring 2022, and identifies some correctly marked places as territories belonging to members, including Greenland, Svalbard and islands belonging to Alaska. (S1: “Einem Sharepic in einem Facebookpost zufolge sind bereits in fast allen Ländern, die an Russland grenzen, Einheiten der militärischen Allianz vertreten.”; “Mehrere Gebiete sind insofern auf der Karte richtig eingetragen: zum Beispiel Grönland, das zu Dänemark gehört, oder auch Spitzenbergen, das zu Norwegen gehört. Oder auch die Inseln am Bering-Becken, die zu Alaska und damit den USA gehören.”) But the map also marked places where the review says NATO troops were not present, or where the relevant military presence did not establish NATO stationing. At the eastern edge of Ukraine, near the Russian border and the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics, the review found no indications of NATO troops. Wrangel Island is Russian territory where the Russian military is active. The review also notes that NATO had withdrawn from Afghanistan in 2021 after a twenty-year deployment. (S1: “Es gibt keine Hinweise darauf, dass dort Truppen der Nato wären.”; “Sie ist russisches Gebiet, dort ist das russische Militär aktiv.”; “Die Nato ist aber 2021 nach zwanzig Jahren Einsatz aus Afghanistan abgezogen.”) The map’s broader implication is misleading because it treats U.S. forces, cooperation, and partnerships as if they established NATO bases or NATO troop deployments. The review says U.S. soldiers were present in several Central Asian countries, in each case fewer than 50, according to the U.S. Department of Defense; it explains that those countries’ participation in NATO dialogue or partnership programs did not make them NATO members. It also distinguishes U.S. troops and bases in Gulf countries, U.S. allies such as Japan and South Korea, and cooperation with NATO from NATO stationing. Iraq was a qualification: NATO troops remained there, but in an advisory role rather than for combat. (S1: “Laut dem US-amerikanischen Verteidigungsministerium sind in diesen Ländern jeweils unter 50 amerikanische Soldaten vor Ort.”; “Diese Zusammenarbeit bedeutet aber nicht pauschal, dass diese Länder Nato-Stützpunkte halten, sich auf die Allianz berufen können oder andere Nato-Staaten als die USA Truppen in diesen Ländern haben.”; “Im Irak befinden sich zwar noch Nato-Truppen - aber nicht zum Gefecht, sondern zur «Beratung», wie von der irakischen Regierung gewünscht.”)

FACTLYWar & conflict

Videos of recent airstrikes on Abu Dhabi

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The claim concerns videos circulated as showing recent Houthi airstrikes on Abu Dhabi. FACTLY distinguishes the airstrikes themselves from the footage: it says the attacks did occur, but the videos examined did not show that recent incident. Its conclusion is that the old or unrelated visuals were misleadingly presented as recent footage. The review traces the four videos to different events. It reports that the first shows a 2015 fire at a supermarket warehouse in Abu Dhabi’s Mussafah Industrial area. For the second, it used the RT logo as a lead to find an August 2020 report identifying a fire in Ajman market. The third video was also linked to that Ajman market fire, rather than an airstrike. For the fourth video, FACTLY reports that reverse image searching found the footage in coverage of a Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport in June 2019. Thus, while that clip depicts an airstrike, its location and date do not match the claim about recent attacks on Abu Dhabi. The investigation’s central distinction is between authentic footage of past events and footage of the specific recent event claimed.