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False and misleading information about the Russian invasion of Ukraine has spread rapidly on social media since Russian forces launched a military assault in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 24.
Here’s a roundup of claims related to the Ukraine-Russia conflict analyzed by the USA TODAY Fact Check team:
U.S. relations with Russia, Ukraine
Claim: There are U.S. biolabs in Ukraine funded by the U.S. government
Our rating: False
The labs in question are owned and funded by the Ukrainian government. The social media posts misrepresent a treaty between the U.S. and Ukraine aimed at preventing biological threats, and numerous reports indicate the claim is tied to a years-long Russian disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting the U.S. Read more.
False or misleading videos
Claim: A video shows Russian soldiers parachuting into Ukraine
Our rating: False
A viral video, recorded by a man in a military uniform, shows a handful of people with parachutes descending into an open field. But the video was posted on Instagram in 2015, nearly seven years before Russia invaded Ukraine. Read more.
Claim: A video shows a recent explosion in Ukraine
Our rating: False
A viral video shows a flash of light followed by an orange glow behind several darkened buildings, claiming its setting is Ukraine. However, the video was shared to TikTok in January and has nothing to do with the Russian invasion. Read more.
Claim: Video shows explosion in Ukraine
Our rating: False
In a video claiming to be set in Ukraine, a massive ball of fire explodes in the air. What the video actually shows is an explosion at a chemical warehouse in an industrial city in China. It was captured by an American survivor in 2015. Read more.
Claim: A video shows a Russian fighter jet in Ukraine
Our rating: False
An online video clip shows a plane falling from the sky and bursting into flames, purporting to show a Russian jet shot down by the Ukrainian military. But the footage really shows a Libyan plane shot down by rebels over Benghazi in March 2011, a decade before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Read more.
Claim: A video shows Ukrainian police dropping their equipment and walking away
Our rating: Missing context
A video purports to show Odesa police abandoning their equipment and “refusing to go against its people.” While the clip does show Odesa police, the footage is from a May 2014 pro-Russian demonstration. It is unrelated to the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Read more.
Claim: A video shows Russian jets flying over Kyiv
Our rating: False
A video claims Russian planes can be seen flying over the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. But the video actually shows a flyover practice in Moscow ahead of the city’s celebration of Victory Day and was posted in May 2020. Read more.
Claim: A video shows war between Russia and Ukraine
Our rating: False
A video claims to show war between Russia and Ukraine before the former had invaded the latter. That’s not true. The video shows footage from “Arma 3,” a military-style video game. At the time the footage was posted, on Feb. 20, Russia had not invaded Ukraine. Read more.
Claim: A BBC News segment depicts a military escalation between Russia and NATO
Our rating: False
A video that purports to show a BBC News segment narrating the escalation of Russian and NATO combat is actually just an out-of-context dramatization made as a training video. The BBC previously debunked its association to the clip in 2018, tracing its source to a private company that identified it as fictional. The video’s actor has also gone on the record to say that the clip is fictional. Read more.
Deceptive use of images
Claim: A photo shows a Russian jet going down in flames as it invaded Ukraine
Our rating: False
The image that claims to show a Russian jet crashing in flames as it invaded Ukraine was actually taken in 1993, after two Russian fighter jets collided in mid-air while performing at an airshow in England. Read more.
Claim: An image shows a Russian plane shot down by Ukraine
Our rating: False
The photo of a plane falling from the sky was captured in August 2015 during an air show in Russia. Read more.
Claim: A photo shows Ukrainians praying in the snow ‘in this phase of war danger’
Our rating: Missing context
The photo of people praying in the snow is from Ukraine, but it has circulated online since at least 2019. It does not show Ukrainians praying during recent tensions with Russia. Read more.
Claim: A photo shows an explosion in Ukraine
Our rating: False
An image of a large explosion depicts Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip in May 2021, not ongoing fighting in Ukraine. Read more.
Claim: A photo shows a celebration after Ukraine’s president lifted a ban on proselytizing
Our rating: False
The image of thousands protesting was taken in 2017 during a celebration in Kyiv of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. USA TODAY found no evidence that Ukraine ever banned proselytizing. Read more.
Claim: An image of a woman holding a rifle shows ‘life in Ukraine, now’
Our rating: False
The photo of a woman holding a rifle on a bus while checking her phone was first shared online in March 2020. A Russian social media influencer said it shows her posing with a fake weapon after a photo shoot. Read more.
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Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.
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