Four years into Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has redoubled its efforts in disinformation warfare. Its methods have evolved, with more generative AI, more targeting of Ukraine's allies and increasing manipulation of real news stories. It's therefore fitting that disinformation watchdog NewsGuard named a Russian tech bro, Yevgeny Shevchenko, its 2025 "Disinformer of the Year'. Emerald Maxwell tells us more in Truth or Fake.

Following Mexico’s military operation against the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which killed drug lord Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias "El Mencho", AI-generated pictures and fake news have flooded social media – not least, the rumour that the operation itself was carried out by the United States. Emerald Maxwell explains what's real in this edition of Truth or Fake.

The US Department of Justice’s massive release of Epstein case files has turned some internet users into self-appointed digital sleuths. They have been combing through thousands of emails in search of hidden clues, eventually fixating on one word: “pizza”. The term appears more than 900 times in the documents, prompting some Trump supporters to claim it vindicates “Pizzagate”. But the allegation that Democrats were running a Satanic child sex abuse ring out of a Washington, DC pizzeria remains a baseless conspiracy theory. In this episode of Truth or Fake, Maya-Anaïs Yataghène explains why. 

The killing of 23-year-old French nationalist Quentin Deranque, on the sidelines of a protest in Lyon, has heightened tensions between far-right and far-left groups ahead of next month's municipal elections. Before any arrests were made, online users claimed to have identified five suspects, leading to the circulation of their personal details. But the internet sleuths got at least one case wrong: a woman identified as Blandine B., who was not even in France on the day of the killing.

In the wake of last week's mass shooting in the remote Canadian community of Tumbler Ridge, some online have been claiming that transgender people are more likely to commit violence than the rest of the population. In this edition of Truth or Fake, FRANCE 24's Charlotte Hughes explains why those allegations are wrong.

In recent weeks, Ukrainian athletes and visitors at this year's Winter Olympics have been targeted by a string of false accusations. These fake news reports and the way they have been spread bear all the hallmarks of the Russian disinformation campaign known as Operation Matryoshka. FRANCE 24's Charlotte Hughes explains in Truth or Fake.

Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, has long been highly critical of Israel. Last weekend, she was accused of calling Israel the "common enemy of humanity" at a forum in Qatar. But as the transcript of her speech shows, she never made that statement. Albanese pushed back on a "manipulation" of her words, clarifying her position directly to FRANCE 24. France is nevertheless calling for Albanese's resignation, citing "all her remarks" in recent years. Vedika Bahl explains in Truth or Fake. 

Multiple social media users – many of them pro-Russian accounts – have shared a photomontage of a teenage boy carrying portraits at multiple funerals, falsely claiming he'd buried "eight fathers" and that it was proof of Ukrainian "wartime staging" to rack up sympathy from Western media. In reality, the photos have been spliced together without context, as the teen is a volunteer at funerals in his village for slain soldiers, a role he considers his "duty". Vedika Bahl explains in Truth or Fake.

Following the latest file dump by the US Department of Justice, social media is flooded with discourse about Jeffrey Epstein. It's triggered scores of conspiracy theories to resurface, including claims the convicted sex offender faked his death. Fake AI images went viral suggesting Epstein was alive and living in Israel, as well as claims his Fortnite account also showed him still active. Vedika Bahl goes through them in Truth or Fake.

Social media users have falsely claimed that emails from the latest Epstein file dump prove that the disgraced sex offender was in fact Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, whose real identity remains a mystery to this day. Nakamoto is indeed mentioned in the documents, but this particular viral email is doctored. Vedika Bahl explains in Truth or Fake.