MARY ALEXANDER • 8 JULY 2024

“Young Ukrainian girls are being forced into the military to fight the war against Russia,” reads the caption for a photo doing the rounds on Facebook in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and elsewhere since late June 2024.*

The photo shows a group of young women in camouflage uniform with their heads bowed.

The Russia-Ukraine war in eastern Europe has been waging for more than two years now, since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its western neighbour in February 2022.

The United States and countries of northern and western Europe have supported Ukraine with aid, weapons and military equipment.

The claim has been posted with comments such as:

• “This Conscription Of Young Girls Is One Too Many. Why Force Them?”
• “They have no respect for women, the west is immoral.”
• “Biden is e v i l.”

Joe Biden is the president of the United States.

But does the photo really show “young girls” forced into Ukraine’s military to fight Russia?

Ukrainian military conscripts must be at least 25

A reverse image search reveals that the photo is one of more than 20 showing a ceremony at Kyiv National University’s Taras Shevchenko Military Institute. Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine.

The photos were posted on the institute’s Facebook page on 11 June. The ceremony was to honour fallen graduates.

The viral photo also appears in a Ukrainian-language news report. A machine translation of its caption reads: “On Tuesday, June 11, the Military Institute of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv commemorated the fallen graduates.”

The report adds: “The rector of KNU Volodymyr Bugrov, the management of the military institute, officers, military chaplains, cadets and relatives honoured the fallen soldiers. The military chaplain of the institute Serhiy Dmitriev and other representatives of the clergy read a prayer.”

This can all be seen in the photos on the institute’s Facebook post.

And a closer look at the viral photo reveals that the women are all wearing the emblem of the Taras Shevchenko Military Institute on their left shoulders. Another photo of graduates wearing the same emblem can be seen here.

Ukraine does conscript civilians into the military, but they have to be adults. In April, the minimum conscription age was lowered from 27 to 25.

The women in the photo are student cadets at Kyiv university’s military institute, their heads bowed during a ceremony to honour fallen graduates. They aren’t being “forced into the military to fight the war against Russia”.

* Some Facebook and Instagram users may have deleted their posts after Meta’s Third-Party Fact-Checking Program rated their claims as untrue.

Published by Africa Check on 10 July 2024

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MARY ALEXANDER • 5 JUNE 2024

“AMERICAN soldiers watch as RUSSIAN soldiers TAKE OVER a base the US built and paid for in NIGER,” reads the caption for a photo circulating on social media since May 2024.*

The photo shows two people in uniform, their backs to the camera, looking at three armoured vehicles on a dusty road. The vehicles fly the flag of Russia.

Niger is a country in West Africa, bordering Nigeria to the north. In July 2023 the government of its democratically elected president Mohamed Bazoum was ousted in a military coup.

In March 2024 the military government revoked a security pact that had allowed the US to station some 1,000 troops on two bases in Niger to help fight insurgents linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.

A month later the US announced it would withdraw its forces from Niger. In May, the two countries agreed that the withdrawal would be complete by 15 September.

In the meantime, military trainers from Russia arrived in Niger “to develop military cooperation between Russia and Niger”. Russian security forces have also been deployed to the same airbase as US troops. The base, outside the capital of Niamey, belongs to the Nigerien airforce.

But does the photo really show Russian soldiers taking over a “base the US built and paid for” in Niger?

May 2020 encounter between troops in northeastern Syria

Africa Check ran the photo through a TinEye reverse image search and sorted the results by date. This revealed that the photo has been online since May 2020 – more than four years ago.

Further searches led us to a Greek-language news report of an encounter between patrolling US and Russian forces in the Middle East country of Syria in May 2020.

Here the photo is credited to Syria-based freelance Agence France Presse photographer Delil Souleiman, who posted it on X (then Twitter).

#US soldiers stand along a road across from #Russian military armoured personnel carriers (APCs), near the village of Tannuriyah in the countryside east of #Qamishli in #Syria‘s northeastern Hasakah province on May 2, 2020.
DELIL SOULEIMAN / #AFP pic.twitter.com/LfNfOj1Xkk

— Delil souleiman (@Delilsouleman) May 2, 2020

“#US soldiers stand along a road across from #Russian military armoured personnel carriers (APCs), near the village of Tannuriyah in the countryside east of #Qamishli in #Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province on May 2, 2020,” the post reads.

The photo can also be seen on the Getty Images stock photo site with a similar caption. It does not show any military base.

In May 2020 Syria was still in the throes of a civil war that began in 2011. Russia gave the Syrian government military support, while the US involvement was largely against the Islamic State and to protect the Kurdish minority.

There were several reports of run-ins between Russian and US troops in Syria’s northeast in 2020.

The photo was shot in Syria in 2020, not in Niger in 2024.

* Some Facebook and Instagram users may have deleted their posts after Meta’s Third-Party Fact-Checking Program rated their claims as untrue.

Published by Africa Check on 7 June 2024

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MARY ALEXANDER • 20 MAY 2024

Russia is now visa-free for all African countries. That’s the claim in two YouTube videos going viral on Facebook since April 2024.*

One, on the channel The New Tourist, is titled: “West in PANICK As Russia Announce VISA FREE For All AFRICAN COUNTRIES…” Text on the video reads: “Russia is now visa free for all Africans.”

The other is on the Displore channel and titled: “West In Panick As Russia Opens VISA FREE ACCESS TO ALL AFRICAN COUNTRIES.” The video’s text adds: “Russia is now visa free for African countries.”

A visa is a permit issued by one country that allows citizens of other countries to travel to and stay there for a limited period of time. There are several different kinds of visa, depending on the reason for the visit: travel, business, study or work, for example.

Most countries have agreements that allow citizens of other selected countries to enter and stay without a visa. They do still need a passport.

The claim can also be seen here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

But can citizens of all of Africa’s 55 countries now enter Russia visa-free?

Only six African countries completely visa-free

In March Russia’s foreign ministry announced that it was in talks to open up visa-free travel to 11 Asian, African and Middle Eastern countries. But the only African country on the list is Zambia.

Russia’s visa agreements with other countries depend on the type of passport the traveller has. These are:

• Diplomatic passports, issued to members of the diplomatic corps
• Service passports, issued to government officials
• General or ordinary passports, issued to everyone else

According to the Russian foreign ministry’s consular services website, citizens of only six African countries can travel to Russia visa-free on all three types of passport.

They are Botswana, Namibia and South Africa on the mainland, and the island countries of Cape Verde, Mauritius and Seychelles. But travellers from these countries can only stay in Russia for, at the most, 90 days.

Holders of diplomatic passports, or diplomatic and service passports, from 26 more African countries can travel to Russia visa-free. Again, the stay is limited to 90 days at the most. But people with ordinary passports still have to apply for a visa.

In Zambia only diplomatic passport holders can enter Russia without a visa. The new negotiations are presumably to extend this to people with service and ordinary passports.

A visa is required for citizens in the rest of Africa – 22 countries – no matter what passport they hold. The only country not mentioned by Russia’s consular services is the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, a self-declared state that claims authority over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

The claim is false. Russia is completely visa-free for only six African countries. For another 26, only diplomats – and sometimes government officials – can enter the country without a visa.

But Russia’s visa policy for Africa is more relaxed than those of western countries. Not a single African country is included in the United States’ visa waiver programme. And citizens of only two – Mauritius and Seychelles – can enter the European Union visa-free.

* Some Facebook and Instagram users may have deleted their posts after Meta’s Third-Party Fact-Checking Program rated their claims as untrue.

Published by Africa Check on 6 June 2024

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MARY ALEXANDER • 10 MAY 2024
Published by Africa Check on 14 May 2024

“Huge group of Africans joined the Russian army,” reads text on a video circulating on social media since April 2024.*

It shows a small group of men, most of them black, in winter camouflage marching and chanting an African song on a snowy parade ground with other troops and the Russian flag in the background.

It also shows the face of the narrator.

“Ghanaians are joining the Russian army! Can you imagine?” he exclaims.

Ghana is a country in West Africa.

“Because the Russian army is the most powerful military on the face of the Earth,” the narrator adds. “These are Ghanaians. This is so amazing. Are you African and want to join the Russian army? President Putin has proven to be the strongest president on Earth.”

The video includes a photo of Russian president Vladimir Putin sipping champagne.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022 divided the world, including countries in Africa. There are reports that Russia has recruited men from Africa, as well as from India and Nepal, to fight in the war.

The claim can also be seen here, here, here and here.

But the soldiers in the video had not joined the Russian army.

Angolan soldiers studying in Russia

The lead soldier carries a red and black flag with a yellow emblem. This is the flag of Angola, a country in southern Africa. Insignia on the soldiers’ uniforms also show the Angolan flag.

Africa Check took screenshots from the video and ran them through a reverse image search.

This led us to a report in the “offbeat” section of the Irish Times, headlined: “Angolan soldiers sing and dance in Siberian military parade.” It’s dated 27 February 2018.

The report includes a similar video of the same soldiers marching on the same parade ground, although shot from a different angle.

“Angolan cadets studying at a military school in Omsk in Russia’s Siberia, joined Russian troops on February 23rd in the annual Defenders of the Fatherland parade which commemorates Russian and Soviet troops, in minus 14 degrees Celsius weather,” its caption reads.

According to other reports and videos from February 2018 – here, here, here and here – the soldiers were members of the Angolan army studying at the Omsk Automotive and Armoured Engineering Institute, a military school in the southern Russian city of Omsk.

They were taking part in the school’s annual Defender of the Fatherland Day parade in Omsk’s Cathedral Square. According to reports, the soldiers won the audience award for their performance.

The soldiers were from Angola, not Ghana. They did not join the Russian army; they were simply studying in the country. And the video is more than six years old.

* Some claims posted on Facebook and Instagram may have been deleted by users after being rated via Meta’s Third-Party Fact-Checking Program.

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MARY ALEXANDER • 22 APRIL 2024
Published by Africa Check on 25 April 2024

“WW3 ALERT.”

That’s the fearmongering theme of a false message circulating on social media since mid-March 2024. WW3 refers to a possible third world war.

The message claims that China has said it will “intervene militarily” if the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) attack Russia.*

China, Russia and the US are among the world’s most powerful countries. Nato – also known by its French acronym Otan – is a military alliance formed in 1949 in response to a perceived threat from the Russia-controlled Soviet Union, which fell apart in 1991.

Nato’s members include Canada and the US in North America, countries in Europe, and Turkey, which straddles Europe and Asia. Its newest member is the previously nonaligned European country of Sweden, which joined on 7 March 2024.

China and Russia are not Nato members.

The false claim has recently appeared on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) in Nigeria, South Africa and elsewhere. Its versions include:

• CHINA WARNS USA AND NATO. “China is ready to intervene militarily anywhere if the US or NATO decide to attack Russia,” said a Chinese Defense Ministry official.
• “China is prepared to get militarily involved anywhere, if the US and NATO decide ro attack Russia.” ~Spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Defence. The Chinese know that if the US and NATO are not stopped now, it will be China’s turn next.
• TANKEFEI, spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense: “#China is ready to intervene militarily anywhere if the #US or #NATO were to undertake to attack #Russia”
• China Declared that they are Ready, to intervene anywhere militarily if US or Nato Attack Russia. It Brics VS West.

Brics is an intergovernmental grouping founded by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Many versions of the claim include a video of Chinese president Xi Jinping addressing a huge crowd of soldiers, with military vehicles behind them.

Others link to a 17 March article on the India-based website Times Now, headlined: “China ‘Ready to Intervene’ if US, NATO attack Russia: Report”.

But the claim is false, and old. It first appeared online more than two years ago, when it was dismissed by China’s military.

‘Stop manufacturing and disseminating false information’

First, the video of Xi addressing soldiers is more than six years old. It was posted in an article on the UK Guardian’s website, dated 4 January 2018 and headlined: “Chinese army puts on show of military might for Xi Jinping – video”.

The clip shows 7,000 troops at the start of military training outside Beijing, China’s capital. The subtitles to Xi’s speech do not mention the US, Nato or Russia.

Second, the only source Times Now credits in its article is the dodgy Telegram channel WW3.INFO Battlefield Research. The channel has been criticised for posting false information.

Third, the claim dates back to late February 2022 in the days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

At the time it circulated only in French and Spanish. But machine translations show it’s the same claim.

• From French: “Chinese Ministry of National Defence spokesperson Tan Kefei said that anytime, anywhere, they are ready to support Russia in case the United States and NATO want to intervene militarily.”
• From Spanish: “CHINA WILL SUPPORT RUSSIA IF THE US AND NATO INTERVENE MILITARY… It was announced by the Chinese Ministry of Defense. #China #Rusia #Ucrania #EEUU #OTAN #Asia #Europa #Francia #Alemania”

The original claim, in Spanish, can also be seen here, here and here.

At the time, it was fact-checked by Agence France-Presse (AFP), which found it had no basis in fact.

The fact-check adds that China’s defence ministry “strongly denied” the claim.

AFP quotes the ministry as saying (in a machine translation from French): “The spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of National Defence has never made this statement. We urge relevant media to observe professional ethics and stop manufacturing and disseminating false information.”

And there has been no recent credible news that China announced it would mount a military intervention in the still-unlikely event that the US and Nato invade Russia. Such an announcement would have made global headlines.

* Some claims posted on Facebook and Instagram may have been deleted by users after being rated via Meta’s Third-Party Fact-Checking Program.

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MARY ALEXANDER • 8 APRIL 2024

Russian president Vladimir Putin recently “opened an ancient box revealing that Jesus was black”.

At least, that’s the claim circulating on social media in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and elsewhere since just before the Easter holidays of late March 2024.*

The claim includes a video divided into three frames. At top is footage of Putin at a table with uniformed men, opening an ornate golden box. Inside we briefly see a Russian Orthodox religious artwork known as an icon.

The frame at bottom left shows a similar artwork, of a dark-skinned Jesus, and at bottom right is a photo of Putin pointing his finger.

The video starts with a machine-generated voice: “Putin reveals to the world a secret that European has been hiding from African for millennium, that Jesus was black.” A millennium is 1,000 years.

The clip then cuts to a second section headed with the text “Russia says Jesus was black with proof.” A more human voice says Russia has “opened its cellars” to “reveal biblical icons featuring darker-skinned figures”. The footage shows paintings in what seems to be a museum.

Then, one by one, nine artworks of people from Christian tradition are flashed on screen. All are darker than the common western image of a blond-haired, blue-eyed Jesus.

The voice adds that “Americans turned the bible white”, but “Russians didn’t get the message”.

The claim can also be seen here, here and here.

It’s worth noting that a month ago the US-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies said it had found, since 2022, a fourfold increase in false information spread across online networks in Africa. Most of the disinformation was from Russia.

Is the video really evidence that Putin has “opened an ancient box revealing Jesus was black” and that Russia “says Jesus was black with proof”?

Putin gives icon copies to military in occupied Ukraine

The footage of Putin includes the logo of the Daily Mail, a UK-based tabloid. So we searched the Daily Mail’s YouTube channel using the keywords “Putin icon”. This led us to the original video, posted a year ago in April 2023.

Its description reads: “Vladimir Putin visits illegally annexed Kherson, Ukraine”.

According to several news reports based on a Kremlin press release, Putin made a surprise visit to the Russia-occupied Kherson region of southern Ukraine on 18 April 2023.

There he held a meeting with Russian military commanders and presented them with copies of Russian religious icons.

Russia’s state-owned Tass news service reports that the copies were bought from a private collector in the USA. The original icons had belonged to Pyotr Vannovsky, Russia’s minister of war in the late 1800s.

There are no reports that Putin “revealed that Jesus was black” during his Kherson visit. And the “ancient box” he is seen opening in the viral video is actually the covering of a relatively new icon replica, bought from the USA.

The icon image below the footage of Putin is unrelated to his gifts. A reverse image search shows it is a 17th-century artwork in the permanent collection of the Tomsk Regional Art Museum in central Russia.

Video of 2011 exhibition

The footage in the second part of the viral video is not “proof” that Russia “recently” opened its “cellars” to reveal that Jesus was black.

The footage is more than 12 years old. It’s not recent. It shows an exhibition of 40 Russian icons from the 1400s to the 1900s held at the Castel Sant’Angelo museum in Rome, Italy in September 2011. One report has it that the works were hidden during the 1917 Russian Revolution to “protect them from anti-religious destruction”.

Recent art claimed to be ‘ancient’

And while the nine artworks flashed across the screen are in an icon style, not all of them are Russian or particularly old.

One (here) is by contemporary Norwegian artist Ove Svele, two (here and here) by contemporary US artist Robert Lentz, and another (here) celebrates the Sudan-born Catholic saint Josephine Bakhita, who died in 1947 and was canonised in 2000. The rest – here, here, here, here, here and here – have been online for years.

The idea that Jesus and other biblical figures were black isn’t new. And the claim ignores the rich artistic traditions of Christianity’s many branches. These include the art of the ancient Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which tradition holds was established in the first century of the common era and has been a formal church for 1,700 years.

Edited version published by Africa Check on 12 April 2024.

* Some claims posted on Facebook and Instagram may have been deleted by users after being rated via Meta’s Third-Party Fact-Checking Program.

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