"There are rumours that Major General Roger L. Cloutier Jr, commander of the United States Army Africa (what is the commander of the United States Army Africa doing in Ukraine?) was captured in Mariupol, where he was helping to command Azov forces," reads a Thai Facebook post shared on April 7.
"It was reported that he was caught attempting to leave Mariupol disguised as a villager," it adds.
Cloutier heads NATO's Allied Land Command and previously commanded the US Army Africa and Southern Europe Task Force.
The Azov Regiment, which is entrenched in Mariupol, has been at the heart of the propaganda war between Ukraine and Russia, as Moscow claims to seek the "denazification" of its pro-Western neighbour.
Created in 2014 by far-right activists, the regiment initially displayed emblems such as the "Wolfsangel" (wolf hook) that is associated with Nazi Germany. It has since been integrated into Ukraine's national guard, and experts say it has been "de-ideologised".
Similar Facebook posts circulating in various languages, including English and French.
...
A front-page article with the byline of veteran New York Times opinion writer Nicholas Kristof is the latest poisonous example of what I call the NGO “halo effect.” Headlined “The Silence That Mee...