Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, videos and photos have been posted across social media along with different claims. Meanwhile, a photo depicting the scene of two kids sitting in rubble along with photos showing soldiers hugging their families were posted recently on Facebook. These photos were claimed and linked to the current Russia-Ukraine crisis which has been happening since late February this year. This post was reacted to with many shares and comments by Facebook users who are speaking Khmer. However, after running a Google Reverse Image search, it proves that the photos attached with the claim posted by the user are misleading.
This is about our investigation of these photos.
Social Media Claim
On March 2, 2022, one of the Facebook pages called “Myy Heart” posted 5 photos one of them shows two children sitting on a pile of rubble, and the other four photos show a scene of soldiers hugging their families. These photos were linked to the current Russian-Ukrainian war crisis as it has been happening since late February. This claim has been shared hundreds of times by Khmer-speaking Facebook users along with any comments on this claim as well.
The following screenshot was captured from the above Facebook page which translates into English as “Photo that has millions of meanings. Did I do something wrong? I just want to live with my family next to my loved ones #Ukraine”.
Fact Check
Fact Crescendo Cambodia had started to check and verify this photo directly by running a Google Reverse Image search, which brought us to the sources containing the following photos.
An exact photo of the same shape and form was found on the Unicef website published on March 21, 2016. The same website above confirms its photo and details of these two kids sitting in the rubble near a refugee camp in a Syrian city that has been identified as “Esraa and Waleed”. The following is an image from the website above written in English “Esraa, 4, and her brother Waleed, 3, sit in the rubble near a shelter for internally displaced persons in Aleppo”.
Below is another photo showing two brothers (aka Esraa and Waleed) sitting on a pile of rubble in Aleppo.
This photo of 2 kids was also found in Business Insider published on March 15, 2016. This website has confirmed and described in English that “Syria’s five-year-old conflict has created 2.4 million child refugees, killed many, and led to the recruitment of children as fighters, some as young as seven”.
Business Insider Report | Archived Link
Fact Crescendo Cambodia also verified photos showing a hug between the U.S. soldiers and their families. It was found that the photos were not related to the crisis between Russia and Ukraine recently at all. Below is a sample image captured from the website Union-Tribune which was written the description in English “Rocio Rebollar Gomez hugs her 30-year-old son 2nd Lt. Gibram Cruz after he arrived at San Diego International Airport on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2019. Gomez is facing a January 2, 2020, date to report to the border to comply with a deportation order”.
The San Diego Union-Tribune Link | Archived Link
Similarly, the New York Times website published on July 17, 2020, also shows the same view of the photo posted on the Facebook page above. This photo was not related to the current crisis happening in Ukraine at all. Brian Eisch left for Afghanistan in 2010 as a sergeant first class in the Army.
The following image shows a scene of Brian Eisch and his two sons.
New York Times Report | Archived Link
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You may find the details of this fact-check in Khmer language here as well.
Conclusion
Fact Crescendo Cambodia found the photos attached with the claim posted by the above Facebook page are misleading. The five photos above are not the result of the ongoing war crisis between Russia and Ukraine. The photo showing two children sitting has been identified as Esraa and Waleed sitting on a pile of rubble nearby refugees in Aleppo, Syria. Also, other photos showing soldiers showing signs of goodbye to their families have nothing to do with the recent war crisis between Russia and Ukraine.
Title:Photos Falsely Linked to Russia-Ukraine Crisis Spread in Cambodia
Fact Check By: Kakada SimResult: Misleading
