Conspiracy theories aimed at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have been circulating on social media since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. One recent example, falsely attributed to a “Pentagon official,” is the unfounded claim that Zelensky is the cousin of billionaire philanthropist George Soros.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered a barrage of false claims on social media, including posts that purport to show a video of “crisis actors” portraying dead victims of the fighting. The video used in the posts is from a climate protest held in Vienna, Austria, weeks before the war in Ukraine began.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has appeared in several recent videos that show he has remained in the country since Russia invaded on Feb. 24. But a post circulating on Facebook falsely claims he fled and recorded a video using a green screen to make it appear as though he’s still in Ukraine. There’s no evidence to support the claim. A digital forensics expert told us that nothing in the video indicates it was filmed using a green screen.
With the U.S. blocking new purchases of Russian oil, the White House, Republicans and the oil industry are engaged in a disagreement over whether the administration has hampered domestic oil production on federal land or whether the industry is holding back. Both sides are spinning the facts.
In late February, Republican Rep. Ted Budd described Russian President Vladimir Putin as “erratic,” a “thug” and “intelligent.” He also said Putin has “strategic reasons” for wanting to “protect” his country’s borders, but called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “evil” and pledged support for Ukrainians. But a new TV ad from Republican Pat McCrory cherry-picks from Budd’s remarks to claim the congressman “excuses Putin” for Russia’s deadly attack on Ukraine.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, following months of military buildup and, as we’ve written, repeated denials by Russian officials that their country planned to invade. As is often the case with major news events, we have seen several false and misleading claims made on social media and by politicians related to the conflict.
A video from 2019 showing Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been circulating recently with the false claim that it shows Putin meeting with the South Korean president.
Rothschild & Co. has an office in Moscow and has been operating in Russia since the mid-1990s. Yet posts on social media falsely claim that Russia has barred the Rothschild banking family from doing business in the country. The claim is the latest adaptation of an old conspiracy theory about the family.
Former President Donald Trump’s keynote speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference included several false and misleading claims, some of which we’ve fact-checked before. Here we focus on assertions about foreign policy and energy.
In this video, we review several false and misleading claims that President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden made at the final presidential debate on Oct. 22.