FACT CHECK: FB Video Claiming Russia Is Set To Attack The US Is False
A Facebook page called Terong Explained falsely claimed in a video posted on Facebook on July 19 that Russia declared an assault on the United States to get back Alaska.
Claim: A video posted on Facebook on July 19 claimed that Russia was set to attack the United States.
The Facebook page, Terong Explained, posted the video titled “DELIKADO RUSSIA SINABING LULUSOB SA TERITORYO NG UNITED STATES!”
Rating: False, misleading
Facts: While the video’s title stated that Russia would assault the US, its content showed otherwise.
The video cited an article by EurAsian Times posted on July 7 with the headline: “Recapturing Alaska! Russia Threatens To Seize Its ‘Lost Territory’ If US Continued To Grab Its Resources.”
The report quoted a top aide of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Vyacheslav Volodin, as saying that Kremlin should “claim back” the US state of Alaska.
“When they attempt to appropriate our assets abroad, they should be aware that we also have something to claim back,” Volodin told Russian lawmakers, as per a report by the Associated Press.
The former Russian Empire sold Alaska to the US in October 1867after fears that the land would not be defended by Russia from Britain following the former’s loss to the latter in the Crimean War.
Apart from this, there was no statement made by Putin about Russia’s plan to attack or invade the US.
The US previously imposed several sanctions against Russia after it waged war against Ukraine in February this year. Among those sanctions include banning all Russian oil and gas imports, making debt payments with some $600 million it holds placed in several US banks, and freezing the assets of Putin, other Russian government officials and Russian billionaires.
Why it matters:
The Facebook video has earned 7,400 likes and reactions, 778 comments and 370 shares as of this writing since it was first posted on July 19.
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