Posts Falsely Claim Ukrainians Are Fighting With Fake Guns
The Claim
A photo depicts Ukrainian civilians fighting with fake guns.
News posted on
Emerging story
Social media users have circulated a picture as a screenshot from a Fox News report featuring two individuals holding wooden guns.
Users alleged that the photo was taken during the ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine. Others claimed that the Ukraine war was fabricated, and that images like these demonstrate how the crisis is being misreported.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar has investigated the claim and found it to be misleading.
The image shows Ukrainians training with fake guns and rifles before the Russian invasion. They were not engaged in combat.
Description: The image depicts two men during a training exercise before the invasion.
Using Google Image Reverse Search, our team has found that the picture was posted to many image stores. According to one of these platforms, the photograph was taken on February 19, before the Russian invasion began.
The image was uploaded with a caption reading: “Two men with rifle cutouts take cover behind a corner during the territorial defense drill for civilians given by Azov Regiment veterans under the slogan.”
Description: Image Stores have uploaded the image before the Russian invasion.
The viral screenshot was from a Fox News report on Ukrainian preparation for the Russian invasion, and it shows two men holding thin rifle-shaped materials appearing to be cut-out of wood. The report was aired on February 26, and showed numerous photos and videos of the Ukraine war preparations during an interview with the Ukrainian Parliament member Kira Rudik. However, the report did not mention the image’s context.
Description: The image was featured in a Fox News report.
A number of media outlets have reported on the use of wooden rifles for training exercises conducted for Ukrainian civilians before the Russian invasion.
