FOUND: 3 - What They Never Told You

India's Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission: Fake news takes flight alongside spacecraft

Although India made history with its Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission, becoming the first country to achieve a soft landing on the Moon's unexplored South Pole, it wasn't the only thing to take off. A surge of misinformation surrounding the mission has also surged since the initial landing, with false imagery circulating…

France 24 · Aug 29, 2023

No, this video shows neither Nigerien nor Nigerian forces at their shared border

A video of a military convoy circulating online claims to show both Niger and Nigeria’s troops travelling to their shared border, at a time when the countries share tensions -- due to Lagos heading the ECOWAS bloc that's threatening to forcibly overturn the military coup in Niamey. In this edition…

France 24 · Aug 28, 2023

No, this video doesn’t show the Wagner Group moving to Belarus

The whereabouts of Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner paramilitary group mercenaries remain unknown since the short-lived mutiny, though there is in place an agreement with Vladimir Putin for Prigozhin and his camp to flee safely to Belarus. A viral video, also shared by an Ukrainian official, claims to show a…

France 24 · Jul 11, 2023

Bashar al-Assad 'casually walking around' Syria unguarded? No, this video is from 2017

Just as the Arab League has reinstated Syria's membership after a 11-year suspension, a video has emerged showing President Bashar al-Assad wandering the streets of Damascus without security – which some Twitter users claim shows his "bravery" and "popularity" amongst his people, unlike other world leaders. But is this true…

France 24 · May 8, 2023

Video game footage presented as air raids in Sudan

A video shared heavily on Arabic-speaking social media channels has been presented as aerial bombardments taking place in conflict-ridden Sudan. But the FRANCE 24 Observers found similarities with a military video game. Vedika Bahl explains in this edition of Truth or Fake.

France 24 · May 2, 2023

Ukraine: How a film clip fuelled false claims the war is staged

Lights, camera, action! A viral video of soldiers falling to the ground from explosions – with cameras present – has fuelled accusations the war in Ukraine is staged. But it’s simply behind-the-scenes footage of a Ukrainian short film. We spoke exclusively to the producer and director in this edition of…

France 24 · Apr 13, 2023

No, Russia did not 'capture and destroy' Ukraine's Leopard 2 tanks

According to social media images, Leopard 2 tanks – recently delivered to Ukraine after weeks of waiting – have been destroyed by Russia's Wagner mercenary group. But Wagner's head Yevgeny Prigozhin has denied the claims, and the images have in fact been around on the internet for a while. We…

France 24 · Mar 2, 2023

Theories of 'plastic rice' being exported to Africa resurface online

Videos circulating on social media have been sent to FRANCE 24, claiming "plastic rice" was being manufactured in Asia for consumption in Africa. These videos echo many others that surfaced online in 2017, causing misinformation and panic in African countries. What's true and what's fake? We take a look in…

France 24 · Mar 1, 2023

Stew Peters, Twitter's far-right American voice of pro-Russian propaganda

He's been compared to Alex Jones and Andrew Tate, and is known for spreading Covid-19 misinformation. This week, far-right US influencer Stew Peters posted three misleading stories about the war in Ukraine. But what else do we know about him, and what does he have to gain from a pro-Russian…

France 24 · Feb 28, 2023

Here's what we know about the Ukrainian soldier accused of wearing an IS group badge

Images of a Ukrainian soldier on the frontline wearing what seems to be an Islamic State (IS) group badge on his arm have taken the internet by storm. Some users and media outlets claim this is evidence of links between the terrorist group and Ukraine. The soldier himself says differently.…

France 24 · Feb 27, 2023