PHOTOFAKE: A boy graduated from school in 2023, and in 2025 joined the military and died
Verification within Meta’s Third-Party Fact-Checking Program
Russian channels are spreading a photo showing two framed pictures of the same boy on a table: in the first, he’s wearing a “Class of 2023” graduation ribbon; in the second, he’s in military uniform. The post claims the boy joined the Defense Forces in 2025 under the “Contract 18-24” program and was killed.
However, this is a photofake. Numerous inaccuracies in the photo indicate that it was generated using artificial intelligence.
Screenshot of the post
“Contract 18-24” is a voluntary service program for Ukrainian citizens aged 18 to 24. It offers a one-year contract service, a 1 million UAH signing bonus, additional payments for completing combat tasks, a 0.0% mortgage after service, and more. The Ministry of Defense also guarantees up to three months of quality training.
Face recognition tools didn’t find the man
The post doesn’t include the surname or first name of the allegedly deceased soldier. So we searched both photos using facial recognition tools, including PimEyes and Lenso.ai. None of them identified the man in the images.
The people in the photos are different
Certain details in the photos suggest they show different individuals. Notably, the boys have different eye colors. The younger one has brown eyes, while the older one has green eyes. It also seems odd that the man in uniform looks significantly older than the boy who graduated high school in 2023, even though propagandists claim the photos were taken just two years apart.
Different eye colors
Generated photo
The photo has several inaccuracies that suggest it may have been generated with artificial intelligence. Specifically, the military uniform does not resemble the typical camouflage used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) or the National Guard of Ukraine (NGU).
Top — photo circulated online; bottom — UAF MM-14 pixel pattern; NGU “Predator” (Khyzhak) camouflage
Additionally, it seems odd that there’s only a zipper on one side of the collar, while the other lacks one. On the man’s right shoulder is an epaulet resembling a blue-and-yellow flag. However, Defense Forces soldiers usually wear epaulets only on dress uniforms, not field ones. Also, chest patches with the soldier’s surname or callsign and blood type, typically present, are missing in this photo.
Inaccuracies in the “soldier photo” that indicate AI use
There is also evidence of AI in the wallpaper pattern: all floral elements are randomly placed, whereas patterns usually repeat. The AI also struggled with rendering reflections. In the photo with the older boy, only one flower has a visible reflection, and it doesn’t match the actual shape of the flower. Meanwhile, the glass holding the bread before the portrait has no reflection or shadow. In the younger boy’s photo, objects do not reflect at all; instead, sun flares appear to be drawn.
Image inconsistencies indicating AI generation
One of the flowers in the bouquet in the AI-generated image appears to “pass through” the glass vase.
Flower “cutting through” the vase in the image
Who shared the photo?
Another sign of fabrication is that the photo is only shared in Russian Telegram channels. If the man had truly died, the image would have first appeared via his relatives or in Ukrainian media.
Russia deliberately spreads such messages to demoralize Ukrainian society and intimidate youth who want to join the Defense Forces. We’ve previously debunked multiple fake stories about the deaths of soldiers who allegedly signed the “Contract 18-24”.