Manipulated photos, false statements, state propaganda and deepfake videos are all part of the war between Russia and Ukraine. We debunk some examples and show how to see through them.
https://www.dw.com-The war in Ukraine is also about disinformation
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, an information war has been raging on the internet. This battle for the truth is being fought on many levels. DW’s fact-checking team has compiled some of the false claims and propaganda from both sides here, revealing what is behind them.
Note: This article is continuously being updated.
Jubilant videos of military success
Claim: An unofficial Twitter page supporting the armed forces of Ukraine (@ArmedForcesUkr) with more than 450,000 followers posted a short video allegedly showing Ukrainian military successes against the Russian Army.
DW fact check: Misleading
DW has established that six of the incidents in the film predate the 2022 Russia-Ukraine war and show conflicts in other regions. One of those scenes actually shows Russian snipers at work in Syria. The remaining 10 incidents might be legitimate but cannot be 100% verified.
Solidarity among firefighters
Claim: A CNN reporter reports live from a fuel depot near Lviv that is on fire after a Russian missile attack. Some viewers claimthe pictures are fake. One firefighter is wearing a jacket with the word “Edmonton” on it. They are, therefore, not pictures from Ukraine.
DW fact check: Wrong
In our Ukraine fact-checking video we prove that the pictures are authentic. In 2017, the Edmonton Fire Department donated 600 fire suits and other equipment to Ukraine. That is why the firefighters are wearing Canadian suits. This was confirmed by the head of Firefighter Aid Ukraine project, Kevin Royle, in a DW interview.
Fact-check: What really happened in Bucha?
Claim: The Russian government says that when the Russian army left Bucha on March 30, there were no bodies on the streets.
DW fact check: Wrong
Our fact-check video on Bucha (see above) shows that this claim is false. Satellite imagery and eyewitness accounts show that there were already dead bodies on the streets of Bucha in March.
The “living corpses” of Bucha
Claim: Official Russian and pro-Russian accounts claim that the killings and images of dead bodies in Bucha are staged. It is alleged that one video from Bucha shows people pretending to be corpses.
DW fact check: Wrong
Our video analysis shows that the bodies in the video are not moving, it is just an optical illusion. Analyses by other media reach the same conclusion.
Russia bombing cities in Ukraine
Claim: Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says that Russia is not bombing cities in Ukraine. She alleges that pictures showing this are manipulated videos from NATO countries.
DW fact check: Wrong
Russian attacks on civilians and non-military targets in Ukraine are well documented. Our in-depth video about fact-checking the Russia-Ukraine War (see below) cites a few examples. Two reliable sources tracking reports of civilian victims in Ukraine are the investigative site Bellingcat and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
No, there was no Russian murdered by Ukrainian refugees in Germany
Claim: A woman says in a TikTok video that a 16-year-old Russian-born refugee was beaten up by Ukrainian refugees at a train station in the western German town of Euskirchen. The boy allegedly died of his injuries.
DW fact check: Wrong
The allegation is false, as shown in our fact check. The local police confirmed that no such crime took place and requested that the video be taken down. The woman later apologized in another video, saying she had been deceived by an acquaintance.
Surprising videos of Putin and Zelenskyy
Claim: In one video, Volodymyr Zelenskyy seems to announce Ukraine’s surrender. In another video, Vladimir Putin seems to announce peace with Ukraine.