Did Belarus recently send a group of refugees to its border with Poland as part of an effort to destabilize the country's security? No, that's not true: The video was taken during the migration crisis in 2021 at the Kuznica-Bruzgi border crossing between Belarus and Poland. Poland's Defense Ministry initially published the video of the border incident on Twitter on…

Is the United Kingdom cutting back on military training for Ukrainians? No, that's not true: This is not a cut in the military training program as a whole, but a reduction of exercises at the Lydd Ranges training area by a third. The UK Ministry of Defense took the step in response to complaints by residents about the noise and…

Did the Ukrainian government start the process of dissolving the Kastus Kalinouski Regiment, a volunteer group of Belarusians fighting in Ukraine? No, that's not true: There is no evidence the regiment is being dissolved or that its members will be deported from Ukraine. The story appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok by sotniktiktok on September 8, 2023.…

Did people in the streets of the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, wave Russian and Turkish flags to celebrate Azerbaijan's victory in its September 2023 military operation in the breakaway territory of Nagorno-Karabakh? No, that's not true. The video was recorded in October 2020 and depicts a march by Baku's Russian community. This march was conducted to express support for Azerbaijan during…

Правда ли, что лидер белорусской оппозиции в изгнании Светлана Тихановская запустила проект «паспорт новой Беларуси» для легализации своего пребывания за границей и получила жёсткий отказ в Европейском парламенте? Нет, это неправда. Тихановская никогда не заявляла, что её команда разрабатывает этот проект для легализации её статуса за границей. Её офис имеет дипломатический статус в Литве, где она находится на законных…

Правда ли, что множество израильских хасидов-паломников застряли на границе между Украиной и Беларусью в сентябре 2023 года? Нет, это неправда. Распространяемое видео было снято в сентябре 2020 года на нейтральной пограничной территории, когда в Украине действовали ограничения из-за пандемии коронавируса. Данное утверждение появилось видео (архив здесь), опубликованном в социальной сети TikTok 17 сентября 2023. Хэштэги под видео #паломники#хасиды#2021#беларусь#новаягута#украина#умань#четыредня#награнице#🤔🤔🤔 создают ложное…

Did a graffiti mural of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a "cannibal" eating a ZSU - the Armed Forces of Ukraine - soldier's arm recently appear on a residential building in Berlin, Germany? No, that's not true: The image is fabricated and the building with the alleged mural is in Warsaw, Poland. An episode containing the claim was shared on…

Does the formation of Ukrainian Edelweiss 10th Mountain Assault Brigade glorify Operation Edelweiss by Nazi Germany and refer to appearing of neo-nazism in Ukraine? No, that's not true: the two events with the same name have no relation to each other and the Ukrainian army unit has no connection to Nazism. The story originated from a Belarusian state TV program…

Did Ukrainian TV channel 1+1 broadcast a video where Ukrainian environmentalists offer a "greener" alternative to traditional funerals by burying the Armed Forces casualties in biodegradable bags that will later serve as soil fertilizer? No, that's not true: The Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation refuted the claim stating that neither the TV channel had aired such a video nor ecologists…

Did a guest appear on CNN to claim the channel was war-mongering and end his interview with CNN host Jake Tapper by using foul language? No, that's not true: The video is doctored to replace CNN's guest, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, with an unidentified young man. TikTok account pravda_bel posted a video (archived here) on September 13, 2023.…

Did the President of Belarus conscript his son Nikolai into the private military company (PMC) Wagner, instead of enrolling him in a summer camp? No, that´s not true: This claim was featured in a post from a Ukrainian satirical website "SRIA Novosti" known for publishing fictional content. The Telegram channel profile warns that the information published is intentionally fabricated (translated…

Did the BBC, the British public service broadcaster, state that Wagner Group chief and leader of the failed mutiny against the Kremlin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is alive? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found that BBC never reported such information. On September 2, 2023, the claim appeared in a video (archived here) posted on the TikTok account @ruporzdravomisliya. The graphic overlay…

Did a Chinese city bordering the Russian city of Blagoveshchensk create a water and light show projecting the portrait of the Russian soldiers in order to pay tribute them? No, that's not true: The video was recorded in the Russian city of Derbent. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) where it was published by mnbelarus on August 24,…

Did the private military company (PMC) Wagner send greetings from Belarus using a satellite photo with a three-letter Russian swear word transcribed in Latin as "hui" and translated to English as "dick?" No, that's not true: This "greeting" was digitally manipulated. The original shows a Maxar satellite image that captured the deployment of Russian ground forces in the Russian city…

Do Ukrainians abuse one-day trips to Poland just to receive migrant benefits? No, that's not true: Poland's Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) does not grant funds to Ukrainians who come to Poland for only one day. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) where it was published by alex_belarussian on August 30, 2023. The text on the video, translated from…

Did the Polish weekly Myśl Polska disclose the number of Polish mercenaries lost in the Ukraine-Russia conflict? No, that's not true: No such article has ever been published. Mateusz Piskorski, from the editorial board of the magazine, denied that Myśl Polska ever reported on that, asking to check on the source of this alleged piece of information. The claim appeared…

Правда ли, что Литва закрыла все пункты пропуска на границе с Беларусью из-за угрозы национальной безопасности? Нет, это неправда. По состоянию на 18 августа 2023 года Литва временно закрыла только два из шести пограничных пунктов ― «Шумскас» и «Твярячус» ― в ответ на размещение частной военной компании (ЧВК) «Вагнер» на белорусской территории. Данное утверждение появилось в видео (более недоступно, архив…

Was there a billboard with the face of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the text "I have made 10 times more than the Barbie movie" installed in New York? No, that's not true: Such a banner does not exist. The story appeared in a video (archived here) where it was published by pravda_bel on August 10, 2023. Videos with the…

Will the new draft law restrict Ukrainian teenagers from traveling abroad because of mobilization? No, that's not true: The changes to the regulations on temporary departure out of Ukraine for children 16 to 18 will require an accompanying parent and the consent of the other or a confidant. Teenagers older than 18 will be able to travel unaccompanied. The claim…

Did a well-known defender of the Kremlin's rhetoric, American Scott Ritter, interview Wagner Group chief and leader of the failed mutiny against the Kremlin, Yevgeny Prigozhin? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no credible evidence that such an interview occurred. On July 3, 2023, the claim appeared in a video posted on the TikTok account @dr46yii (archived here). The…