Polygraph
Thursday 16 January 2025
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![Maria Zakharova]()
Maria Zakharova
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman
U.S. uses forced labor by involving inmates in fighting Los Angeles fires, while sanctioning China for using forced labor in Xinjiang.
Read more...In California, qualifying inmates volunteer as firefighters to assist in combating wildfires in Los Angeles. China uses forced labor involving arbitrarily detained Muslims in Xinjiang. -
![Patriarch Kirill]()
Patriarch Kirill
Head of the Russian Orthodox Church
"We emerged victorious from two world wars. ... We have preserved our people. ... "
Read more...World War I had a catastrophic impact on Russia, forcing its withdrawal before the conflict ended, resulting in significant territorial losses, including what is now Ukraine, Moldova, Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. This was followed by a five-year civil war. -
![Dmitry Polyanskiy]()
Dmitry Polyanskiy
Russia's first deputy permanent representative to the United Nations
''Let us emphasize right away that Sudan is not experiencing nor can experience a severe famine. Upon examining the FRC [Famine Reiew Committee] report we couldn't but think that the issue of hunger in Sudan is being politicized and exploited to exert pressure on the Sudanese government. We have an impression that someone is desperate for famine to eventually begin in Sudan."
Read more...The Famine Review Committee report on Sudan is backed by expert investigation and analysis proving millions are in acute need of food. -
![Alexander Lukashenko]()
Alexander Lukashenko
Belarusian president
"I don't cling to power. ... Therefore, it is my great advantage that I do not try to somehow hold on to power by force."
Read more...In office, Lukashenko has abused and monopolized power by amending the constitution, jailing and exiling rivals, destroying press freedom, falsifying election results, and using the police and army to crush protests against his rule. He is running uncontested in January for another five-year term. -
![Mesh Abdulrazak]()
Mesh Abdulrazak
content creator
"If Kenyan government will not stop the abductions, I want to promise you that the U.S. government will stop funding Kenya and issuing loans. The International Monetary Fund will also stop issuing loans to Kenya." -- attributed to Donald Trump in video
Read more...A cross-check of Trump’s website, social media accounts and leading U.S. media outlets shows he has not issued such statements. The footage is an AI-generated deepfake. -
![Jacob Mafume]()
Jacob Mafume
Mayor of Harare, Zimbabwe
“… [T]he water that is coming out of our taps is safe for human consumption, and it is safe for the residents. We treat water that comes from Lake Chivero and Lake Manyame thoroughly to make sure that we don’t put in our system water that is contaminated or that is harmful to the residents.”
Read more...Zimbabwe has a weak water filtration system that frequently allows the spread of waterborne diseases. Multiple investigative reports and studies by independent researchers have exposed Zimbabwe’s inability to produce clean, safe water. -
![Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei]()
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
“They [enemies] consistently say that the Islamic Republic has lost its regional proxies — this is yet another mistake! The Islamic Republic does not have any proxy forces.”
Read more...Iran operates or coordinates with more than 100 militant groups in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and beyond to advance its foreign policy interests. -
![Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviation)]()
Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviation)
"Preliminary: after a collision with birds, due to an emergency situation on board the aircraft [Baku-Grozny flight of Azerbaijan Airlines], its commander decided to go to an alternate airfield — Aktau was chosen."
Read more...Multiple shrapnel holes in the plane’s fuselage and its altitude at the time of incident contradict the bird theory. Azerbaijan accused Russia of hitting the passenger jet with a missile. The pilot did not decide to fly to Aktau; Russian airports denied the airliner an emergency landing. -
![Vladimir Putin]()
Vladimir Putin
President of Russia
"[W]e need to continue to further expand military and military-technical cooperation with allies and partners who are ready and willing to work with us, which includes most countries around the world."
Read more...Five ex-USSR countries maintain military alliances with Russia. Moscow also is engaged in transactional military partnerships with China, Iran, India, and North Korea. By comparison, NATO has 32 members. -
![Paul Kagame]()
Paul Kagame
President of Rwanda
"Now the cooperation [with China] presents more value in terms of trade, investment. This relationship doesn't come with a lot of strings attached like we have had with many other parts of the world."
Read more...Analysis shows that China is burdening poor African countries with debt while taking collateral in the form of natural resources. Through ''debt trap diplomacy,'' China has become the single largest shareholder of African resources and infrastructure. -
![Vladimir Putin]()
Vladimir Putin
Russian president
"Let me stress once again, so that no one accuses us of nuclear saber-rattling: this is a policy of nuclear deterrence."
Source: Kremlin.ruRead more...By VOA Fact Check estimates, top Russian officials made 135 public nuclear threats between February 2022 and December 2024. Vladimir Putin made 27, ranging from direct threats to ordering nuclear strike simulations and changing nuclear posture. -
![Egountchi Behanzin]()
Egountchi Behanzin
activist
"Is it a coincidence that the Congo has become an experimental laboratory where populations have become guinea pigs to allow the World Health Organization, the #BillGates foundation, American European pharmaceutical firms and American biolabs to test viruses and other dirty things?"
Read more...Russia has been pushing disinformation campaigns targeting U.S. health campaigns in Africa. Egountchi Behanzin, a French Togolese activist, has been exposed in several investigations for discrediting U.S. and Western health campaigns in favor of Russia.
