The network is disseminating information that the famous sports journalist Larry Merchant allegedly called the victory of the Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk in the fight with the British Tyson Fury “political”, and the attention to the boxer’s figure as “theater for the tired Ukrainian people”.

“When you have no hope, but you need to be forced to fight, a hero like Usyk is perfect”, some netizens allegedly quote Larry Merchant.

StopFake fact-checkers add that such news was invented, because there are no publications about Usyk’s “political victory” on BBC Sport. Moreover, as experts explain, the sports commentator is 93 years old. Recently, due to health reasons, especially after he was admitted to the intensive care unit in 2023, Larry Merchant does not appear in public and does not make any comments.

A photo of a man showing a Nazi greeting is being circulated on anonymous telegram channels. In the post, propagandists claim that the man allegedly made a similar gesture during the celebration of Ukrainian Embroidery Day on the main square of the German city of Rostock.

VoxCheck analysts explained that the photo of the man was taken back in 2015 in the German city of Freital. The Nazi gesture was addressed to a group of demonstrators.

This man, a former miner who grew up and worked in the German Democratic Republic under socialism, in an interview with the German publication Welt called his action a “complete failure” and assured that he gets along well with foreigners and has nothing against them.

This was recorded by analysts of the VoxCheck project. The SMS message itself states that the evacuation of Kharkiv and nearby settlements has allegedly begun.

However, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Service of Ukraine for Emergency Situations denied information about the announcement of evacuation from Kharkiv and noted that the State Emergency Service did not send out such a message.

Moreover, such emergency messages come from “DSNS UKR”, and not from the “DSNS Ukraina”, as in the screenshot.

An alleged new cover of the French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo is being circulated online. The drawing depicts a French military man in the form of a dead man. The picture also has the caption: “Cold, smelly, full of holes, made in France, but not cheese”.

VoxCheck analysts analyzed the case and found that such a cover was not in any issue of Charlie Hebdo magazine. The cover of the magazine indicates that this is issue No. 1659 dated May 7, 2024 - but on the official website of the publication there is the original issue of the magazine for the specified period, which was also published under number 1659.

The cover may be linked to calls by some French MPs for a boycott of the participation of Israeli athletes in the Olympic Games in Paris.

Pro-Russian telegram channels write that the head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, Oleg Syniehubov, allegedly fled the city and is hiding in Poltava.

VoxCheck analysts explained: no evidence of escape was found, and photographs and photos from social networks of the head of the Kharkiv regional state administration prove that Syniehubov remained in the city.

For example, the day after the “news” about the escape was published, the head of the Regional State Administration recorded a video message. In it, he said that he had instructed his relevant deputy to gather all participants in the process of constructing fortifications so that each contractor would report on the work done.

Another example: on May 16, Volodymyr Zelenskyi held a meeting of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief in Kharkiv. The head of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration was present at it.