fact check. The photo shows more than 30 thousand soldiers of the Azov battalion dead in body bags in Mariupol? – Foreman

All is well in this photo, real and unprocessed, that has been widely shared in recent weeks on social media — well, except for the caption that came with it.

This photo was taken by the satellite company Maxar Technologies, which since the invasion of Ukraine has been providing the media with photos for free, specifically to combat misinformation, this photo was taken over the coastal city of Mariupol, 780 kilometers southeast of Kyiv, in the past. March 29.

A day later, it was broadcast on television and newspapers around the world, including The New York Times, which She said A completely different story from the one he told Posts Facebook, which guarantees that what you see on the ground is more than 30 thousand Ukrainian soldiers from the Azov battalion already died in body bags. According to the American reference paper, what you see on the ground are hundreds of people (instead of thousands) very alive, queuing to buy food and other basic necessities, outside a supermarket in the west end of town. .

“This photo shows people waiting in line for food and other groceries outside a metro grocery store in Mariupol, Ukraine,” confirmed But to American Check Your Fact is also a spokesperson for Maxar Technologies.

Moreover, it is estimated that the same Azov battalion, established in 2014 in Ukraine, after the annexation of Crimea by Russia and the so-called Maidan Revolution, has no more than a thousand members. According to one Article feature Recently published by the Observer, the force responsible for defending the city of Mariupol for the past two months, had no more than 2,500 fighters.

It is not true that what you see in this photo, true and captured by Maxar Technologies satellites, are soldiers of the Azov battalion, dead and in body bags. The photo was taken in Mariupol, yes, but it shows the outside area of ​​a supermarket where hundreds of people gathered at the end of March to buy food and other basic necessities.

Thus, according to the observer classification system, this content is:

wrong

In the facebook ranking systemThis content is:

False: Main content claims are factually inaccurate. In general, this option matches the “wrong” or “mostly wrong” ratings on news validation sites.

Note: This content was selected by the moderator as part of the fact-checking partnership with Facebook.