Last fakes of the week
08 September 2026
Was the first Soviet computer created in Moldova? What is wrong with blogger Solomon Bernstein’s claim?
In an episode of the CheZa? podcast on the First News Channel*, vlogger Solomon Bernstein claimed that the first computer in the Soviet Union was created in Moldova. However, the first Soviet computers appeared in the early 1950s. They were developed almost simultaneously and independently of each other by Sergey Lebedev in Kyiv and Isaak Bruk in Moscow. A computer manufacturing facility in Chișinău did not appear until the early 1960s.
misrepresentation, USSR, Moldova, The First News Channel news.by, Solomon Bernstein, achievements, IT, history.
07 September 2026
“One of the worst indicators.” CTV news anchors confused labor productivity in Germany with its growth rate
According to a CTV news report, labor productivity in Germany has fallen nearly sevenfold over the past 30 years. However, it actually increased by more than a third during this period. It was not productivity itself that fallen nearly sevenfold, but rather its annual growth rate.
misrepresentation, Belarus, Germany, CTV TV channel, economy, achievements.
05 September 2026
“The difference is simply enormous.” On state TV, all members of the BRSM were counted as volunteers when comparing the number of volunteers in Belarus and the EU
The host of the Michael Edet show stated that there are 5,100 young volunteers for every 100,000 residents in Belarus, compared to just seven per 100,000 in the European Union. To make this comparison, vlogger Michael Albrecht counted all members of the Belarusian Republican Youth Union (BRSM) as volunteers, even though the organization itself counts only 40,000 of its members as volunteers. Current data also do not support the figure of seven people for the European Union.
misrepresentation, Belarus, European Union, Belarus-4, Michael Albrecht, politics, demography, sociology.
04 September 2026
An SBTV host claimed that EU countries are blocking Ukrainian grain. Meanwhile, transit is increasing
An SBTV host claimed that Ukrainian Black Sea ports have essentially ceased operations and that European countries are not permitting Ukraine to export grain via their territories. In reality, exports have slowed significantly but have not stopped. Ukraine is also increasing its rail shipments of grain to the EU. In August, an average of about 160 railcars were sent to the western border daily.
misrepresentation, Ukraine, European Union, Romania, Belarus Today, Alyaksandr Tsishcanka, economy, grain deal, agriculture.
03 September 2026
Have wind turbines left Europe without rain? News.by linked the summer heat to green energy
On the First News Channel*, it was claimed that tens of thousands of wind turbines could be one of the causes of the abnormal heat and drought in Europe. Allegedly, they have altered the movement of air masses and are preventing cold, moist air from the north from reaching the continent. Studies of wind farms in the North Sea do not confirm this. Scientists observed a noticeable effect mainly during southwesterly winds in the fall and winter.
misrepresentation, Europe, European Union, The First News Channel news.by, Alexey Zubets, high tech, ecology, green energy.