Get PolitiFact in your inbox.
Bloggers
stated on January 20, 2023 in a blog post:
“Putin destroys adrenochrome lab in Ukraine.”
- Facebook Fact-checks
- Ukraine
- Russia
- Bloggers
By Ciara O'RourkeJanuary 25, 2023
If Your Time is short
- This story was fabricated. It appeared on Real Raw News, a site that regularly publishes false, fantastical stories authored by someone using a pseudonym.
See the sources for this fact-check
Russian President Vladimir Putin is the hero in a fabricated blog post that gained traction on Facebook.
The Jan. 20 storycame fromReal Raw News, a website with a history of publishingfalse, fantastical stories.This time, it drew from a false QAnon cornerstone belief that powerful elites are killing children to harvest the chemical compound adrenochrome. According to the story, Putin struck back.
"Putin destroys adrenochrome lab in Ukraine," the story’s headline says. The post goes on to claim that Russian special forces "raided and destroyed an ‘Adrenochrome farm’" in Ukraine, "where sinister forces tortured abducted Russian children to harvest fluid from their adrenal glands."
The post cites an anonymous "Mar-a-Lago source" who claims that Putin told former U.S. President Donald Trump that the operation had led to the rescue of "50 young kids from the ghastly laboratory."
Featured Fact-check
Facebook posts
stated on July 17, 2024 in a Facebook post
A photo shows proof of a bullet hole in Trump’s jacket.
This post, which is being shared on Facebook, was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook.)
Real Raw News stories areauthored by someone using a pseudonym and the site has a disclaimer saying it contains "humor, parody and satire," though the author has defended his stories as truth.
We found no credible news reports or other sources to corroborate the claims in this post.
QAnon promotes a number of conspiracy theories that invoke pedophilia and a Democratic cabal. QAnon adherents were present during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. These ideas also infiltrated political discourse as recently as the 2022 midterm elections.
We rate this claim Pants on Fire!
Read About Our Process
The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter
Our Sources
Real Raw News, Putin Destroys Adrenochrome Lab in Ukraine, Jan. 20, 2023
Politifact, Hangings, guillotines and Gitmo: Going behind Real Raw News’ sensational (and fabricated) headlines, Sept. 24, 2021
The New York Times, Twitch, Where Far-Right Influencers Feel at Home, April 27, 2021
The Daily Beast, How QAnon Became Obsessed With ‘Adrenochrome,’ an Imaginary Drug Hollywood Is ‘Harvesting’ from Kids, Aug. 14, 2020
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
More by Ciara O'Rourke
Viral image
stated on August 7, 2024 in an Instagram post:
Says Elon Musk posted on X, “Any harassment of Trump supporters using the term ‘weird’ will be punished.”
Threads posts
stated on August 10, 2024 in a Threads post:
Video shows former President Donald Trump freezing up.
Viral image
stated on August 8, 2024 in a Facebook post:
Says Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had his stomach pumped “after overingesting horse sem*n.”
Viral image
stated on August 6, 2024 in a Threads post:
Photo shows former President Donald Trump “asleep at the 2017 NATO summit.”
Threads posts
stated on August 2, 2024 in a Threads post:
“Mike Tyson says he’s willing to box Olympic DUDE with all proceeds to go to a battered women’s charity.”
Facebook posts
stated on August 5, 2024 in a Facebook post:
“Caitlin Clark declines $1 million offer from ABC to appear on ‘The View.’”
Instagram posts
stated on August 2, 2024 in an Instagram post:
President Joe Biden walked “onto an empty airplane for no reason.”
Viral image
stated on July 12, 2024 in an Instagram post:
“Police found human remains and evidence of cannibalism” at Oprah Winfrey’s home.
Facebook posts
stated on August 3, 2024 in a Facebook post:
“Michael Jordan rejects $400 million Disney offer, stating, ‘I do not collaborate with companies aligned with woke ideologies.’”
Viral image
stated on July 31, 2024 in a Facebook post:
“Scientists at Exeter University have reconstructed this 3D model of how Moses might have looked.”
Facebook posts
stated on July 27, 2024 in a Facebook post:
“Elon Musk calls for ban on ‘The View,’ ‘I’d rather walk barefoot on hot asphalt than watch ‘The View.’”
Facebook posts
stated on July 23, 2024 in a Facebook post:
“Elon Musk backs Caitlin Clark, offers $10 million endorsem*nt.”
Facebook posts
stated on July 29, 2024 in a Facebook post:
Photo shows Israeli swimmers protesting Olympic rules by spelling out “bring them home.”
Viral image
stated on July 21, 2024 in a Facebook post:
Video shows a “strong tornado in Atlanta.”
Facebook posts
stated on August 2, 2024 in a Facebook post:
Says Simone Biles “announces retirement” and “reveals she is ‘expecting a baby.’”
Fabricated story falsely claims Vladimir Putin destroyed an adrenochrome lab in Ukraine
Instagram posts
stated on August 13, 2024 in an Instagram post:
Kamala Harris voted in favor of passing a law in 2022 to tax tips.
Facebook posts
stated on August 12, 2024 in a post on Facebook:
Dr. Leo Ferreira, a cancer researcher shown in a video clip, was on the plane that crashed in Brazil on Aug. 9.
Instagram posts
stated on August 13, 2024 in an Instagram post:
Videos of media talking about Tim Walz as a "happy warrior" are proof of government propaganda legalized by Barack Obama.
Viral image
stated on August 7, 2024 in an Instagram post:
Says Elon Musk posted on X, “Any harassment of Trump supporters using the term ‘weird’ will be punished.”
X posts
stated on August 14, 2024 in a post:
Photo from an Aug. 14 campaign event in Michigan shows “JD Vance couldn’t fill a small room.”
TikTok posts
stated on August 14, 2024 in a TikTok video:
Video shows Boston Red Sox player Jarren Duran getting a “MASSIVE” ovation after his two-game suspension for hom*ophobic slur.
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
stated on August 7, 2024 in TV ad:
Dave McCormick “wants to outlaw abortions.”
Facebook posts
stated on August 10, 2024 in a Facebook post:
“Elon Musk has announced his first robot girlfriend, with artificial intelligence.”
Donald Trump
stated on July 24, 2024 in a speech at a campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina:
“Vice President, Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote to cut, as you know, Medicare by $273 billion. She cast a vote to cut Medicare.”
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell
stated on August 7, 2024 in an ad:
Sen. Rick Scott does not support abortion exceptions.
Load more
Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.
Sign me up