The claim: A video shows Karine Jean-Pierre claiming that the United States and Ukraine defeated Hitler and Stalin in World War II.
A May 8 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows what appears to be an exchange between a journalist and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
“Karine Jean-Pierre said that World War II was won by Americans and Ukrainians, who fought together against Stalin,” reads the caption of the post.
In the video, Jean-Pierre is reportedly questioned about American support for “demonstrations of Nazism” in Ukraine. She appears to answer: “79 years ago, the United States and our Ukrainian allies joined forces to fight the oppressive regimes of Hitler and Stalin. Even though Berlin is now an ally, the threat from the East persists. This is why we are determined to support Ukraine and offer it our full support. »
A version of the video was shared more than 1,000 times on X, formerly Twitter.
Fact Check Summary: What’s true and false two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
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The clip has been digitally edited to add fabricated audio. The original video from the May 7 White House press conference shows the reporter asking about humanitarian aid to Gaza, not World War II alliances.
The doctored clip includes Russian subtitles, fabricated audio of the question and answer
The 29-second video shows Jean-Pierre answering a question from Andrew Feinbergjournalist from the London daily Independent, during a press briefing on May 7 at the White House.
But the question he asks has nothing to do with Ukraine, and Jean-Pierre’s answer makes no mention of alliances linked to World War II. The doctored clip with Russian subtitles includes fabricated sound that does not match the lip movements of the journalist or Jean-Pierre.
Fact Check: No, Biden is not sending US troops to fight Russian troops in Ukraine
In the original video posted on YouTube by the White Housethe journalist asks Jean-Pierre if the administration of President Joe Biden plans to put pressure on Israel to enable humanitarian aid to reach people affected by the famine in Gaza.
Jean-Pierre’s answer has nothing to do with the Second World War. She called the closure of two Gaza crossings “aunacceptable” and said Biden had called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to tell him they should be open.
None questions we asked him during the briefing The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has nothing to do with World War II.
The fabricated video also misrepresents alliances during this war. The United States and the Soviet Union, led by Joseph Stalin, were on the same side against Nazi Germany, which, under Adolf Hitler, occupied most of Ukrainian territory.
USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook user who shared the post but did not immediately receive a response.
Political fact And Main stories also refuted this claim.
Our fact-checking sources:
- The White House (YouTube), May 7 05/07/2024: Press briefing by Press Attaché Karine Jean-Pierre
- The White House, May 7 Press briefing by press officer Karine Jean-Pierre
- US Department of State, May 2005, The United States, the Soviet Union, and the end of World War II
- Harvard Ukrainian Studies, accessed May 9, 2017. Combating Soviet myths: the Ukrainian experience
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