Fact file: Trump on Zelenskys popularity, U.S. social security and a warning about the manipulation of our elections [Video]

This article is part of The Globe’s initiative to cover disinformation and misinformation. E-mail us to share tips or feedback at [email protected].

In this regular update we examine some notable false and misleading stories that have been circulating online and the forces that shape the information we consume.

This week, a closer look at false statements that people 200 and older are receiving Social Security cheques in the United States. More on that below.

Trump‘s ‘disinformation space’

U.S. President Donald Trump made a series of false statements about Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky this week. Mr. Trump blamed Ukraine for starting the war with Russia, said Mr. Zelensky had a 4-per-cent approval rating and called him a dictator for not holding elections.

Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, in what the Russian government called a “special military operation.”

Polling by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociologyfound that in the first half of February, 57 per cent of …