FACT CHECK: Is There ‘Not One Raw Footage Video’ Of The War In Ukraine?
An image shared on Facebook claims there is “not one raw footage video” of the conflict in Ukraine despite millions of cellphones in the country.
Verdict: False
Numerous videos of the ongoing conflict have been shared on social media and by credible news outlets.
Fact Check:
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nears its fourth week, airstrikes across the country are intensifying, according to The Wall Street Journal. The conflict has caused nearly 3 million people to flee the country as refugees, CBS News reported.
One post shared on Facebook, however, calls into question what is actually happening on the ground. It shows a screengrab of a tweet from Twitter user @MrBlue1776 that reads, “26,000,000 cellphones in Ukraine. 100% internet coverage. Not one raw footage video. Think about it.”
26,000,000 cellphones in Ukraine.
100% internet coverage.
Not one raw footage video.
Think about it.
— Mr. Green (@MrBlue1776) March 10, 2022
Contrary to the post’s claim, there are numerous authentic videos showing the ongoing war in Ukraine. For example, investigative outlet Bellingcat has posted articles about videos and images it has verified from the conflict, including dash-cam footage of a car caught in artillery crossfire in Kharkiv, Ukraine. (FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show A Ukrainian Pilot Shooting Down A Russian Jet?)
A dashcam video, filmed 100 m from a children’s hospital in Kharkiv (we confirmed the geolocation) shows what we believe is the impact of a cluster munition.
As no aircraft can be heard in the video, it was probably launched by a MLRS.https://t.co/VMPCPH1n6j
— CIT (en) (@CITeam_en) February 25, 2022
Bloomberg published a video showing the moment a mortar round struck the Ukrainian city of Irpin. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a U.S. government-funded news outlet, posted a compilation of videos showing Russian missile and rocket strikes on major Ukrainian cities during the first few days of the war.
The Associated Press published footage of a Russian strike and its aftermath on a maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine. Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denied the attack, though footage of the strike is available, according to CNN.
Despite the amount of footage circulating, some videos have been falsely attributed to the conflict. Check Your Fact recently debunked a video that purportedly showed Russian and Ukrainian soldiers fighting each other.