Anonymous telegram channels spreading pro-Russian rhetoric posted a photo of a candle called “House of Trade Unions” with the scent of "marshmallow on a fire”, allegedly sold in Ukrainian online stores. It's fake.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project drew attention to the case. They used the Internet image search engine TinEye to find a photo of a candle called “House of Trade Unions”. A similar image was found on the Rawpixel photo stock. Both the distributed and the original photo have the inscriptions “Soy wax candke” and 8.7 FL./OZ, the same highlights, the shape and color of the jar and lid. However, experts note that the photo distributed by the propagandists was edited.

Also, experts did not find a single mention in Google of the sale or manufacture of candles “House of Trade Unions”. There are other candles on sale with a photo that was distributed by propagandists, with the inscriptions “World without Russia”, “I like how it burns” and “Bandera smoothie”.

By creating such fakes, propagandists are trying to dehumanize Ukrainians, saying that they are real killers and criminals. And also to justify the crimes of Russia, shifting responsibility from the aggressor to the victim of aggression. Earlier, Detector Media explained the Russian message that allegedly the Nazis burned people alive in Odesa in 2014, and they also refuted the fake that they allegedly sell wax chalk from the True Pencil brand in Ukraine with inscriptions like “Blood in which we will drown Crimea” , “Fire when we burn Moscow”.

In the Ukrainian segment of Facebook, an advertising message is being distributed accusing the Ukrainian authorities of embezzling financial assistance provided by Western partners. They allegedly provide “billion dollar assistance” to fight Russia, and the fighters “still lack resources”. It is not true.

According to experts from the Center for Countering Disinformation, an announcement from a page that masquerades as News and Mass Media was created on May 6, and an announcement discrediting the Ukrainian authorities was launched on May 7. According to the CCD, the account itself is empty. Partners and international organizations did not record the facts of aid theft.

Russian propaganda is systematically trying to discredit the Ukrainian authorities, saying that the Ukrainians are fighting but they are making money in the war. Also, propagandists want to weaken the support of international partners. Earlier, Detector Media refuted the fake that Volodymyr Zelenskyi allegedly owns a villa in Florida and earns $11 million monthly.

Anonymous telegram channels spreading pro-Russian rhetoric report that Volodymyr Zelenskyi sold Ukraine through an agreement with the American company BlackRock. Reports say that from now on, this company allegedly owns “the largest enterprises in Ukraine, which were nationalized from Ukrainian oligarchs”.

Specialists of the Center for Strategic Communications drew attention to the case. The message comes amid news that the Ukrainian government has begun cooperating with the world's largest investment company, BlackRock. However, in reality, this is not about selling Ukraine to a Western fund, but about valuable cooperation, thanks to which Ukraine will attract foreign investment in the future to restore the Ukrainian economy after the victory. But Ukraine will take the main financial expenses. The funds raised will be directed to the development of agriculture, energy, infrastructure, production, and information technology.

By spreading this message, propagandists are trying to discredit the Ukrainian authorities in the eyes of Ukrainians and emphasize once again that Ukraine depends on the West. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the message that Ukraine is allegedly a tool of the West to undermine Russian statehood.

Anonymous telegram channels spreading pro-Russian rhetoric promote the thesis that it is better for Ukrainians to emigrate from Ukraine, because life here will only get worse, especially after the war. As an example, they add a screenshot of the message of the Ukrainian writer Larysa Nitsoi, where she “condemned the wounded soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for saying “thank you” in Russian as well as a video where passers-by make comments on listening to Russian music. Like, after the war, all “inadequate Ukrainians” will do this and mock the “adequate” ones.

The telegram channels also write that “if one is not going to wear an embroidered shirt in a restaurant or does not speak the state language, they will sometimes have uncomfortable situations”.

However, remarks on the use of the Russian language in everyday life are not a reason to go abroad. In Ukraine, there is no criminal punishment for communication in Russian, and even more so in private communication. The Verkhovna Rada also supported a bill on a partial ban on Russian music in public transport and public places, but it does not apply to singers included in the List of Musical Performers condemning the war against Ukraine.

By spreading such messages, propagandists are once again trying to stir up hostility over the language issue, discrimination against Russian-speaking Ukrainians and split Ukrainian society. Also, such messages help Russian propaganda to create the image of unbearable Ukrainian radicals who are ready to mock everyone who does not agree with their opinion. This radical image has become one of the elements of Russia's exculpatory rhetoric. Like, the Russians attacked to save the Russian speakers, etc. By the way, earlier propagandists spread the message that a war had begun in Ukraine because of the ban on the Russian language.

Russian propagandists use different definitions to soften or avoid mentioning the crimes of the Russian army in the media where pro-Russian rhetoric is disseminated. One of such terms is “cleansing”.

The word, formed from the verb “to cleanse” and in the original sense means the blockade of residential areas, checking the documents of all their inhabitants, identifying and eliminating “undesirable elements”.

The Russian armed forces began to use this term as part of the Soviet army during the military campaign in Afghanistan in the 20th century. The most common use by the time of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the definition acquired during the Chechen wars. An example of a “cleansing” in the war against Ukraine is the actions of the Wagner terrorist organization, where the commander ordered to “clean up”, that is, to eliminate everyone (even civilians) whom the soldiers see in a certain territory, including women and children. Using this wording, the propagandists want to justify the crimes of the Russian army and give them the right meaning. They say that Russian soldiers do not kill everyone in a row, but only dangerous elements. However, it is the civilians who suffer the most from their actions.

Such information was disseminated by the Kremlin propaganda media and anonymous telegrams. Russian Minister of Health Mykhailo Murashka said that 80 medical institutions were restored in the occupied territories, 50 ambulances were provided and medicines worth 7 billion rubles were sent. It is not true.

The VoxCheck project specialists drew attention to this case. According to the World Bank, the Russian military damaged or destroyed at least 978 medical facilities, 650 ambulances and about 596 pharmacies. They noted that in order to fully restore the medical system, Ukraine needs $16.4 billion over the next 10 years. Also, eyeWitness to Atrocities, Insecurity Insight, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR) and the Ukrainian Health Center (UHC) created an interactive map showing that as of March 2023, Russia had 822 attacks on hospitals and other health infrastructure.

By spreading such manipulation, Russian propagandists are trying to convince the inhabitants of the occupied territories that they care about them and restore medicine. Also, in this way they try to hide the real state of affairs. Earlier, Detector Media wrote about manipulation that in the Kherson region from now on there allegedly will be free medicine.