Here are some examples of fake news being circulated online during the Russian-Ukrainian war, according to AFP Fact Check.

Fake CNN screenshot misleads on war in Ukraine

Social media posts claim US broadcaster CNN misrepresented an image of a 2015 explosion as being from the 2022 war in Ukraine. But the image shows an explosion in Kyiv and was released by the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on February 24, 2022, and the channel said the alleged screenshot of a CNN report featured in the posts is fake.

"Hey look this happened in 2015 not 2022 what else are the media lying about?" asks a March 4, 2022 Facebook post that includes what appears to be a still image of a CNN broadcast about Ukraine next to two images of an explosion said to have taken place seven years prior. The chyron on the image with the network's logo says: "FIREY BUT MOSTLY PEACEFUL EXPLOSION IN THE UKRAINE."

Other Facebook posts, including here, here and here, shared the same three images and the text: "The exact same explosion, 7 years apart..."

The same collage of images was posted on a website hosting memes. The posts offered no additional information about what was purported to have been a 2015 Ukraine explosion.

The posts follow a pattern of social media content accusing CNN and other broadcasters of misleading the public about the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, following Russia's February 24 military intervention, part of a flurry of misinformation about the conflict.

But CNN publicist Lauren Bobek told AFP the image of the broadcast is "doctored" and "not real."

"Fiery but mostly peaceful protests" is a direct reference to a CNN chyron that aired on August 25, 2020 during a live conversation with correspondent Omar Jimenez who was covering violence in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following a shooting by a white policeman of a Black man, Jacob Blake, during an arrest, that left him paralyzed.

AFP Fact Check previously debunked posts about Afghanistan that included a different fake CNN image, also referencing the ridiculed caption.

CNN did share the photo of the explosion in an online gallery about the war.

It credits the image to the Office of Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky saying in the caption: "A photo provided by the Ukrainian President's office appears to show an explosion in Kyiv early on February 24."

The images on the right side of the collage in the Facebook posts are two close-ups of the photo of the February 24 explosion near Kyiv.

Reverse image searches do not find these images prior to 2022.

AFP also found, through a search on Google Lens, that silhouettes had been added to the image. The figures pictured are President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, taken from an AP photo published on December 28, 2021.

The silhouette in the middle is their dog, Commander, also present in the original AP image.

Posts falsely claim photo shows Ukraine's first female fighter pilot

Social media posts featuring an image of a woman in military uniform claim she is Ukraine's first female fighter pilot and that she died during Russia's military intervention. But the Ukrainian Defense Ministry says the photo shows a soldier who won a 2016 beauty contest organized by the military, and the country's first female combat pilot is now a politician.

"Ukraine's first female fighter pilot died after being severely injured today," says a February 27, 2022 Facebook post.
Other examples of the claim -- part of a flood of inaccurate information about the war in Ukraine following Russia's February 24 military intervention -- appeared on Facebook here and here, and on Twitter.

A reverse image search showed that the photo appeared in a 2016 article on the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense website that identified the woman as Olesia Vorobei, a soldier, not a combat pilot.

The article's headline says: "A participant of the anti-terrorist operation (ATO), soldier first class Olesia Vorobei, became the winner of the uniformed beauty contest 'Glory to Heroines' of the Lugansk region."

Vorobei did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

Nadiya Savchenko, who is identified as Ukraine's first female combat pilot by the Los Angeles Times, has not been reported killed during the current conflict. Now a politician, Savchenko spent almost two years imprisoned in Russia after being captured by Moscow-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Savchenko continues to post several times a day on Facebook and TikTok.

Inaccurate posts claim NATO countries giving warplanes to Ukraine

Social media posts claim that three NATO countries will give 70 warplanes to Ukraine to aid the fight against Russian forces. This is misleading; while Kyiv said Poland, Bulgaria and Slovakia would provide the aircraft, officials from all three countries denied that they would do so.

"Bulgaria, Poland and Slovakia will transfer 70 combat aircraft to Ukraine that can be stationed on airfields in Poland," a March 2, 2022 Facebook post says, citing Russian news agency TASS, which included Bulgaria's denial in its report.

The same claim -- which circulated online on February 24 -- appeared on Facebook here and here, and was reported by Russian outlet RT here.

Various European countries and the United States have supplied weapons to Ukraine, which has pilots who are trained to fly Soviet-era planes. But getting the aircraft to Kyiv's forces would be difficult logistically, and could be viewed by Moscow as an escalation.

On February 27, while discussing a 500 million euro fund for materiel and military assistance to Ukraine, top EU diplomat Josep Borrell announced: "We are going to supply arms and even fighter jets."

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba "has been asking us that they need the type of fighter jets that the Ukrainian army is able to operate. We know what kind of planes and some member states have these kinds of planes," Borrell added.

When asked about the matter at a press conference on February 28, Borrell said in Spanish that the 500 million euro package would not be enough to cover the cost of the planes, but that "certain European countries may, if they wish, bilaterally mobilize any sort of assistance."

That same day, the Ukrainian armed forces and the country's parliament announced on social media that 70 planes would be received: 16 MiG-29s and 14 Su-25s from Bulgaria, 28 Mig-29s from Poland, and 12 MiG-29s from Slovakia.

But as of March 4, all three countries have denied that they plan to send aircraft to Ukraine.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petrov said during a February 28 press conference that, considering the small size of the country's air force, it could not and would not be giving planes to Ukraine, calling the idea "absurd."

On March 1, Slovakia's EU diplomatic Twitter account announced: "Slovakia is neither sending the Fighter jets to Ukraine (sic)," quoting Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad' who denied the claims in an interview with Slovak media SME.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said during a press briefing at a NATO airfield in Poland the same day: "We are not going to send any jets to the Ukrainian airspace," alongside NATO's secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg.

Stoltenberg said NATO would send anti-tank weapons, air defense systems and "other military equipment," but not troops or planes.

On March 3, Polish government spokesperson Piotr Muller reiterated on national broadcaster Polsat News that there are no plans for his country to send military jets to Ukraine.

False subtitles added to Putin’s Ukraine war declaration video to suggest African states are next

A video of Russian President Vladimir Putin addressing the press has been viewed thousands of times on Facebook posts alongside the claim that he has declared war on African countries – including Kenya and South Sudan – for commenting on Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine. The claim is false; Putin's speech in Russian makes no mention of Africa. The clip was taken from his televised address on February 24, 2022, when he announced Russia's decision to start a military operation in Ukraine.

On February 27, 2022, this Facebook post shared a TikTok video of Putin speaking Russian. The caption reads: “Russia targets African Countries with missiles for talking about Russian Ukrainian War!!! Putin declares war on Kenya (sic).”

Purported subtitles in the clip, which has been viewed more than 300,000 times, claim that Putin said the following: “I have made a decision of a military operation. How can Kenya invade our missions? Kenya has put itself in a war where it can't even shoot a single bullet. Bombing Kenya will only take few minutes for my military men. As from now we'll start sending our missiles to Nairobi so we can destruct Kenya (sic).”

Identical posts were shared on Facebook here and here.

Another Facebook post shared a TikTok video of the same speech by Putin alongside the claim that he had threatened South Sudan for backing Ukraine.

“I heard South Sudan wants to back up Ukraine. You have 24hrs to apologize, otherwise, lord knows (sic),” reads the subtitles of the video viewed more than 150,000 times.

The recording then goes on to include a video of South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir saying “not because I was the one who started it but because I was the leader of the country, I have to apologize”.

A screenshot of the false South Sudan Facebook post, taken on March 3, 2022
However, both videos have been edited and incorrectly subtitled in English. The footage of Putin's speech comes from his televised announcement of his decision to start a military operation in Ukraine.

Old photo of children saluting Ukrainian soldiers circulates in online posts about Russia’s recent military intervention

A photo of two children facing tanks has been shared alongside claims it shows Ukrainian kids saluting soldiers as they head off to battle Russian forces. But the image has been shared out of context: AFP Fact Check found the photo was taken in 2016 by Ukrainian photographer Dmitry Muravsky.

The photo shows the two kids in winter jackets holding hands, with one saluting troops standing on military tanks. The armoured vehicles bear Ukrainian flags and the background is filled with smoke.

“Two young Ukrainian children sending off soldiers to fight the Russians,” reads the caption of one Facebook post. “The kids holding hands, the girl holds a stuffed animal, the boy (her brother?) salutes. Look what he has on his back. This picture speaks a thousand words (sic).”

The post has been shared more than 1,600 times since it was published on February 26, 2022. The post creates the impression that the photo was taken recently during the ongoing war.

Social media monitoring tool CrowdTangle revealed that the photo was shared in similar social media posts around the world, including in Nigeria, India, Armenia, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

But this photo was taken more than six years ago and is unrelated to the Russian-Ukrainian war.

AFP Fact Check ran a reverse image search on TinEye and found that the photo has been circulating online since 2016.

The watermark of the Ukrainian photographer can also be seen in the bottom-left corner of the image.

The image was also included in a series of photos shared on Facebook by Ukraine’s defense ministry in 2016.

However, controversy erupted over the authenticity of his photos and whether they were staged or not.

AFP Fact Check sifted through Muravsky’s photos on Facebook and found the image in question was published in the "Children of War" album on March 22, 2016. The album also features several similar war-like images.

Fake video of Ukrainian military withdrawing from Kharkiv circulates online

Social media users are circulating a video whose publishers claim that it shows the Ukrainian army withdrawing when the Russian army entered the city of Kharkiv. However, the video was actually taken in 2014 in the city of Mariupol during clashes between pro-Russian separatists and Kyiv forces.

The video shows a Ukrainian-flagged tank running fast through the streets of a city and breaking into a tire barrier. A number of bypassers are seen looking at it, and others seem to be stoning it.

The video has received thousands of shares on the social media pages since its spread in early March 2022 with the continuation of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

In the north of the country, Kharkiv, which is close to the Russian border, was bombed throughout the night of March 2, according to local authorities.