Claims that Ukraine banned Truth Social are false
- Published on February 21, 2025 at 17:38
- Updated on February 21, 2025 at 23:01
- 4 min read
- By Daniel Patrick GALGANO, AFP USA
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"BREAKING: Zelensky blocks access to President Trump's social media platform Truth Social across Ukraine," says a February 20, 2025 X post from conservative influencer Benny Johnson, who AFP has previously fact-checked.
Another X post from Russia Today, a state-controlled broadcaster, from around three hours earlier reads: "Zelensky blocks Trump's Truth Social network across Ukraine."
Both posts contain a screenshot of Trump's social media website reading "Truth Social is currently unavailable in your area."
Johnson's post garnered more than 32,000 likes. The same claim circulated elsewhere on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube, Rumble and Gettr -- including in French, German, Portuguese and Dutch.
Several Kremlin-aligned media organizations also reported the claim, including Russian state-owned news services RIA Novosti and Sputnik, along with a network of websites that French authorities have accused of pushing pro-Moscow disinformation.
In a scathing Truth Social post littered with inaccuracies, Trump called Zelensky a "Dictator without Elections" and accused the Ukrainian leader of prolonging his country's war with Russia to secure more western aid.
Zelensky responded by urging a renewal of "strong" ties between his country and the United States and said the US president was living in a "disinformation space."
However, the Ukrainian commander-in-chief has not taken action to restrict access to Truth Social.
A spokesperson for Trump Media and Technology Group, which owns Truth Social, said the company has not launched the micro-blogging site in Ukraine.
"Reports that Truth Social was blocked in Ukraine are false -- Truth Social has never been available in Ukraine," the spokesperson said in a February 20 email.
After the claims about Zelensky banning Truth Social began circulating on social media, a spokesperson for Ukraine's foreign ministry posted on X, saying state officials had not banned the platform because it is "unfortunately" not available in the country (archived here).
"We would appreciate it if the Truth Social would add Ukraine to their authorized region of operations," foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said on February 20.
We have seen reports suggesting that access to the Truth Social network has been blocked in Ukraine. These reports are false.
— Heorhii Tykhyi (@SpoxUkraineMFA) February 20, 2025
Ukraine did not and could not block access because, unfortunately, the social network Truth Social has never made itself available to users in Ukraine.…
The Center for Countering Disinformation, a Ukrainian state agency, similarly denied authorities had barred access to Truth Social (archived here).
An AFP reporter in Ukraine took a screenshot of the Truth Social website on February 21, revealing it displays the same message shown in the social media posts about not being available in the user's region.
AFP has debunked other claims about the war in Ukraine here.
This article was updated to add an image caption.February 21, 2025 This article was updated to add an image caption.
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