Video fake: a pro-Russian rally with the slogan “Putin is our best friend!” allegedly took place in Ukraine
In early October, two videos allegedly showing a pro-Russian rally in Ukraine were actively circulating on social media, particularly on Georgian- and Russian-language Facebook and TikTok accounts. The footage shows people with Ukrainian flags and wearing clothes in the colors of the national flag. The videos feature chants such as “Motherland, freedom, Putin!” and “Putin is our best friend!”
However, this is a video fabrication and blatant disinformation. In both cases, archival footage of pro-Ukrainian patriotic rallies was used, with an altered (fake) audio track added. This video fake was debunked by fact-checkers from MythDetector.
The investigation by MythDetector experts found that both videos are old and were manipulated through deceptive editing.
First video (Rally on Khreshchatyk):
- Actual time and place: The footage showing people in similar clothing with Ukrainian flags was filmed on October 4, 2014, on Khreshchatyk Street in Kyiv.
- What the event really was: It was a Peace March calling for an end to the war, organized by patriotic forces.
- Original audio: In identical videos published on YouTube in 2014, rally participants were chanting “Ukraine! Ukraine!” and other patriotic slogans. There were no pro-Russian or pro-Putin chants at all.
Second video (Rally in Odesa):
- Actual time and place: The footage was filmed in Odesa in March 2014 on Lanzheronivska Street, near the building of the Odesa Archaeological Museum.
- What the event really was: It was a pro-Ukrainian rally in support of Ukraine’s unity and sovereignty.
- Original audio: In the original 2014 videos, demonstrators were chanting in support of a united and free Ukraine.
Both fabricated videos were accompanied by the TikTok nickname @sasha1111z. This account systematically publishes fake videos about Ukraine in a similar manipulative style, some of which have already been debunked in the past.
The spread of such video fakes is a classic example of how propagandists take authentic footage filmed many years ago and overlay it with a fake audio track containing pro-Russian slogans in order to create the false impression that there are supposedly widespread pro-Russian sentiments among Ukrainian citizens.