In early November, Russian propaganda Telegram channels circulated a video falsely presented as a publication by the organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The video claimed that European journalists were being forced to “lie” about the situation on the front line in Pokrovsk by portraying “fabricated successes” of Ukraine’s Armed Forces. This fake was debunked by the VoxCheck team.

In reality, RSF did not publish any such video: there are no records or posts with this content on the organization’s official website or social media accounts. Analysis of the video shows that its structure, style, and editing do not correspond to genuine RSF materials. Authentic videos produced by the organization usually contain real footage from the scene or interviews and feature a clear title for the material (for example, “Documentary”), whereas the fake consists only of a collection of photos and statements without context.

The video also mentions allegedly “three European journalists” who supposedly refused to “lie about the situation near Pokrovsk” and therefore allegedly resigned from their newsrooms. However, this story is entirely unsupported by evidence. The video does not name a single individual, does not identify any specific media outlet, and does not even mention the country these journalists supposedly came from. Normally, journalists’ resignations – especially those related to ethical conflicts – leave a noticeable digital footprint: they are reported by local or professional media, while statements, comments, or at least hints of the conflict appear on social media.

In this case, however, there is no confirmation whatsoever in the information space. Neither European media outlets, nor reporters, nor media organizations have reported any such incidents. VoxCheck’s investigation likewise found no references in open sources – something that would be virtually impossible if a “mass” or even publicly known resignation of journalists had actually taken place.