This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that Russian engineers easily manage to destroy Ukrainian tanks and any other equipment. Like, the Ukrainian army is not capable of resisting the Russian one. As proof of this thesis, the authors cite a video where the Russians allegedly destroyed a Leopard in the Zaporizhzhia direction.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project took up the case and determined that the video shows a tank clearing mines from the de-occupied territories in the Zaporizhzhia region. However, it was not destroyed, as it continues to work with mine clearance. This fact was determined by the checkers by a reverse search in Google and characteristic publications in the telegram channels of the Ukrainian segment. 

Thus, the Russian army tries to hide its crimes and convinces that it is constantly winning.

Appeal to the people, or argumentum ad populum, is a propaganda tactic based on a logical flaw. It consists in the fact that a certain statement or idea is considered correct because it is considered as such by all or most people. And most people do not seem to be wrong. Propagandists often use this method when the process of gathering evidence and constructing rational arguments to support their position is too long or costly.

This argument can be misleading for two reasons:

a) The person who puts it forward does not always have complete, exhaustive and reliable data on the “majority”. Speaking of the “majority”, a person usually relies on his personal experience and the experience of their acquaintances, often representing a very limited socio-economic profile, unacceptable from the point of view of statistics;

b) The generally accepted opinion on this issue may be erroneous. For example, in Ancient Greece, the vast majority of its inhabitants believed that the Sun revolved around the Earth, but this does not mean that it really is.

 Russian propaganda does not always give a logical argument and tactics of “appeal to the people” to this example. Yes, anonymous pro-Russian telegram channels regularly publish videos where Ukrainians are dissatisfied with something, and transfer the opinion of one or several people to the whole nation in the lead-in to them. This may relate to the provision of the army, treatment and social guarantees for veterans, mobilization, tax and price increases, corruption of officials, arbitrariness of law enforcement agencies and other sensitive topics during martial law. We should also mention one of the most vivid images of Russian propaganda of the beginning of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine - “grandmother with a red flag”. The purpose of this myth is to show that allegedly the inhabitants of Ukraine support and rejoice at the Russian occupation. In fact, the Ukrainian pensioner Anna Ivanivna came out with a Soviet flag to, as she thought, the Russian military, in order to convince them “not to smash Ukraine”.

Russian President Volodymyr Putin said in February 2023 that the majority of Russians supported the war against Ukraine (the so-called special military operation). This statement has no grounds, because it is impossible to conduct impartial sociological studies of this issue in a totalitarian society. Here Putin appeals to the Russian people, trying to keep their favor and support.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. American boxer Mike Tyson is reportedly suggesting that Zelenskyi “fight drug addiction”. The authors add that the whole world already “knows” about the dependence of the Ukrainian president and world leaders are trying to turn him, they say, onto the right path. An alleged video of the Reuters news agency is added to the publication.

The Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council explains that the video has been compiled. First of all, it is without sound, which means it is impossible to determine what the athlete was saying. Moreover, with the help of a reverse Google search, fact-checkers managed to find out that Reuters does not have exactly such a video with Tyson, where he tells something live in the studio. It is most likely that the news agency badge was superimposed on the video sequence, because this is not the original video.

That is, the authors of the messages did not provide hard evidence that the athlete called on the Ukrainian president to be treated for drug addiction. They posted the video without sound and the alleged source. This makes it easier for propagandists to manipulate and simply promote the thesis they want.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that an Indian magazine recently ran a cover featuring Volodymyr Zelenskyi as Lord of the Rings character Gollum the Hobbit. Also on the cover there is an inscription: “No ring can help hide the truth”. It is not true.

Fact-checkers of the Center for Countering Disinformation investigated this case and found that such a cover does not exist. The fake cover states that it is scheduled for release on August 2, 2023. The announced magazine has a completely different cover as the official website of the magazine published the announcement of the magazine. 

Thus propagandists seek to show that their rhetoric is also being repeated in the West. So readers may get the impression that the whole world is opposed to Ukraine.