Propagandists are circulating a cover on social media that they claim is a special issue of The Nation magazine. It depicts Volodymyr Zelenskyi, Joe Biden and Henry Kissinger. It is noted that the issue is timed to coincide with the death of Kissinger, who, according to the cover, went to hell and is trying to take Biden with him. In the picture you can see the publication date – November 30, 2023. However, this is fake.

The VoxCheck team noticed it. It found out that The Nation magazine had not published a single issue with such a cover. The publication's website and its pages on social networks do not contain the mentioned issue. In addition, the publication does not have a November 30, 2023 issue.

Propagandists continue to create and distribute fake covers of global publications to create a false impression of resistance to support for Ukraine among foreigners. Thus, they also want to personally discredit the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi.  Detector Media also refuted other propaganda fabrications directed against him.

Pro-Kremlin propagandists are spreading information that the Indian satirical publication Rodip Reb published an issue on December 16 with a broken Christmas tree decoration in the colors of the Ukrainian flag on the cover. In addition, the cover contains the text: “Dragged into darkness: Ukraine’s tragic prospects in 2024”. However, this is fake.

The fact-checkers from the Georgian project Myth Detector found out that in fact such an Indian satirical publication as Rodip Reb does not exist and has never existed, and the photo with the supposed cover from the magazine is fake. Investigators also note that the photo with a broken decoration in the colors of the flag of Ukraine is distributed only by Russian-speaking users on social networks, and the likely primary source of distribution is Olesia Losieva, a Russian propagandist who has previously distributed fake photographs to discredit Ukraine.

Russian propaganda regularly creates fake covers of the world's leading magazines or invents them in order to tarnish the reputation of Ukraine in the international arena. We have repeatedly refuted fakes on this topic.

Read on Censor.NET: A German satirical magazine allegedly released a cover depicting the severed legs of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers

Pro-Kremlin telegram channels are distributing what appears to be a new cover of the American political publication Washington Monthly. It depicts a Thanksgiving dinner. Volodymyr Zelenskyi is at the table with the Americans, who seem to have eaten all the food, sitting with a full belly and saying: “Thank you! But I need more!”. It's a lie.

The VoxCheck analysts investigated this case and found that none of the issues of Washington Monthly magazine had such a cover. For example, the fake cover states that this is a November-December 2023 issue. The actual cover from this period depicts American President Joseph Biden. There is no mention of Volodymyr Zelenskyi on the cover of this issue.

Thus, propagandists seek to show that their rhetoric is also repeated in the West.

This information is disseminated by pro-Kremlin resources. It’s as if on the cover of one of the issues of the German magazine Titanic, instead of socks for gifts, the severed legs of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers are depicted. It's fake.

The Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council investigated this case. They found out that in fact there is no issue with such a cover, as evidenced by the pages of the German edition on social networks. The latest, December issue of the magazine was published under number A 4352 and has a different cover.

By spreading disinformation, in this case, propagandists are trying to discredit Ukraine and its armed forces. We have repeatedly refuted such fakes, when Russian propaganda creates false covers of the world's leading publications for its own purposes. Here, for example, is an analysis of misinformation about the already mentioned German magazine, which allegedly published a cover with a caricature of Volodymyr Zelenskyi.

Propagandists say a German charity allegedly ran an advertisement comparing the cost of a Leopard tank sent to Ukraine with the cost of operations for 10 sick children. Like, they wrote about it in Reuters. Some people also claim that after the publication of this information, “defenders of Ukrainian refugees” criticized the philanthropists and called them Nazis due to the fact that German children were more important than Ukrainian ones. However, this is a fake video.

The VoxCheck analysts drew attention to it. They found out that the photos and videos distributed by propagandists were edited. The charitable organization Bunter Kreis Rheinland, against which the fake was created, stated that it did not place such advertising. It was also debunked by a reverse search of video frames via Google Images, which showed that the photos were only being distributed by Russian-language resources or users spreading pro-Russian rhetoric. The subtitles on the video also look like they were added during editing, as they contain errors in how words are related, and in some frames there are additional spaces between words.

Deutsche Welle contacted the charity Bunter Kreis Rheinland, which is listed as the author of the ad, and received confirmation from finance director Ralf Orth that the organization had no connection with the ad as their finances are based on donations and they cannot fund such things in Berlin .

The fake posters featured the logos of Paritätische Wohlfahrtsverband and Aktion Mensch; both organizations denied any involvement in the advertising and said their logos were used without their permission.

The blue inscription on the billboard belongs to the company Wall GmbH, whose representatives stated that they did not produce such billboards at all.

Propagandists spread such fake news to create skepticism among European audiences about the war in Ukraine. Like, why should Europeans waste their resources on other people’s children when they have problems with their own? However, such comparisons are inappropriate, since the life of every child is priceless.

Propagandists in Russian media are actively spreading information that New Year's sweaters with the inscription “The Last Ukrainian” have appeared in Ukrainian stores. They say that Ukrainians “have completely come to terms with their role as ‘cannon fodder’”. However, this is fake.

The specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. Based on the distributed image, they found out that the propagandists tried to fake the page of one of the large online stores in Ukraine - Rozetka. It is important to note that this screenshot does not contain any detailed information that would allow such an “ad” to be verified: neither the seller, nor the name of the product, nor its price are indicated.

The StopFake specialists also analyzed the Rozetka pages in detail in search of a similar sweater and did not find a single product with the inscription “The Last Ukrainian”. An image search using various search engines also yielded no results. Therefore, it is likely that such an image was created using a graphics editor and was disseminated to support one of the Kremlin’s disinformation narratives.

A similar narrative about the “last Ukrainian” has been spreading in Russia since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In particular, Russian President Volodymyr Putin expressed the idea that the West is ready to fight with Russia at the hands of Ukrainians to the last Ukrainian. By this, propagandists want to show that Russia is waging a war not with Ukraine, but with the West, and therefore the advance of Russian troops is not as rapid as it should be. On the other hand, the purpose of this narrative is to show that the Ukrainian government treats its people as a resource that is not valued and is thoughtlessly thrown into pre-lost attacks.

Such information was disseminated on social networks in the Russian segment. The reports say that Ukrainian women are allegedly “lured” into the army with beautiful pictures - and as proof they cite a probable screenshot of correspondence between the public organization “Ukrainian Valkiria” and a user of Instagram. In the correspondence, the organization invites the woman to come to the training ground to take “some good photos” to promote women’s service in the Defense Forces. It's a lie.

The VoxCheck analysts took up this case and turned to the Civil Defense for comment on refuting the information. They were told that the screenshot of the correspondence had nothing to do with their activities, because the organization conducts voluntary training for women in self-defense.

Thus, propagandists are trying to convince that the Ukrainian leadership is allegedly resorting to “total mobilization” and is trying to “lure” people into the army by any means.

Read also: information messages from the Armed Forces of Ukraine allegedly “hint” that women will soon be mobilized.

Propagandists are spreading images on social media of a purported cover of the Turkish satirical magazine LeMan, depicting a dead Biden and a calm Xi Jinping. Along with the illustration is a Turkish phrase: “If you sit by the river for a long time, you can see the body of your enemy floating by”. The reports came after Biden met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping from November 15 to 17 in San Francisco, during which Joe Biden called him a dictator. However, this image is fake.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that LeMan magazine had not published an issue with such a cover. It contains the following data - date and issue number: November 17, 2023, issue 45 since the beginning of the year, as well as another issue number - 1652. However, they did not find confirmation of this cover on the official LeMan pages on social networks. VoxCheck also checked to see if issue number 45 or 1652 was published on November 17th and found that LeMan had not published any new issues at that time. Issue number 45 (or 1652) did not appear until November 22 and had a different cover dedicated to living conditions in the hostels.

By spreading such fake news, propagandists want to create the impression that the foreign press is skeptical not only of the United States, but of the West as a whole. Creating false covers of foreign publications is a regular practice of Russian propagandists, as Detector Media has repeatedly written about. 

Propagandists are disseminating information that the first mobilized teenager from an orphanage died during the fighting. In these messages they refer to statements by the “director of the orphanage” Olesia Chykel. Together with them, they used a real photo of the deceased Ukrainian soldier. However, this is manipulation.

Analysts from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that the picture shows a native of the village of Oselia, Yavoriv district, Lviv region, 26-year-old Volodymyr Sachala. On December 2, information about the death of a Ukrainian serviceman and an obituary dedicated to him appeared on the official page of the Yavoriv City Council on Facebook. It was these photos that the propagandists used. In addition, there is no evidence in the original publication of the Yavoriv City Council that the Ukrainian defender is a minor child of an orphanage who was drafted into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Official information notes that after graduating from the Ivano-Frankivsk School in 2017, Volodymyr Sachala joined the ranks of the Ukrainian army. Over time, he was demobilized and returned to civilian life. In January 2023, Volodymyr again joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine and served with the 24th Mechanized Infantry Brigade named after King Danylo. At the end of November, Volodymyr Sachala received injuries incompatible with life as a result of Russian mortar attacks. On December 4, the deceased defender was taken home.

In a comment for StopFake, Olesia Chykel, whom propaganda media called the “director of the orphanage”, also categorically denied the Russian reports. According to her, she is the administrator of a patriotic Ukrainian group on Facebook, where on December 2 she posted an official message from the Yavoriv City Council about the death of fighter Volodymyr Sachala. Russian media immediately picked up the post, but cut off the text of the message and came up with information about the “deceased orphanage resident”.

Propagandists spread such manipulations to reinforce the myth of Ukraine as a powerless state. They say everything is so bad at the front that children have to fight. However, in reality there is no mobilization of minors in Ukraine. Detector Media has already repeatedly refuted the fabrications of Russian agitprop on the topic of mobilization.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks claim that the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andrii Yermak, said in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda that it is planned to achieve peace with Russia in 2024. They attach an image similar to the screenshot of this news as “proof”. However, this is fake.

After the dissemination of such information, StopFake decided to check whether Yermak had made such statements. As it turned out, the disseminated information is not true. Since Russian media and social network users did not provide a direct link to the news, but only a screenshot, StopFake decided to look for it on its own. The distributed image shows that the news should be published on November 1, 2023 at 21:49 under the authorship of Yevhenii Kyzylov. According to the specified time and date, there is indeed a publication by this author on the Ukrainska Pravda website. But it has a completely different title: “Zaluzhnyi spoke about evaders and reserves: Gaps in legislation”, and in the text of the news there is not a word about “peace plans” with Russia. StopFake analysts also checked the presence of similar statements by Yermak in other authoritative Ukrainian media, but found nothing of the kind there. In his interviews, speeches and comments, the head of the Presidential Office said that peace negotiations with Russia are impossible if Ukraine has to sacrifice territory, independence or sovereignty.

Propagandists spread such fake news to discredit the political leadership in the country and destabilize the situation. They say that everything is so bad that even Bankova is ready to agree to Russia’s conditions. Detector Media has already repeatedly refuted other fakes in which the President's Office appeared.

Various photographs are actively being circulated in the Ukrainian segment of social networks, in which it is believed that Ukrainian soldiers are on their knees, praying for salvation. Like, Avdiivka asks for prayer. However, these photos are fake.

Over the past few weeks, StopFake analysts have observed the spread of various pictures on social networks depicting Ukrainian military personnel, with calls to pray for their fate. Similar publications are distributed mainly by bot accounts.

In fact, these images are not authentic - they were all created using artificial intelligence technology. Neural networks such as Midjourney, Bing Image Creator, DALL-E or DeepAI are capable of independently creating completely new content or transforming existing ones. Using services like AI or Not, one can check whether an image was created using AI or not. However, now it is possible to distinguish real photographs from artificially created ones without special tools - by carefully studying all the details in the picture. StopFake analysts checked the images circulating online using the AI or Not tool and found that they were likely all generated by a neural network.

The fact that this is an artificially created image is also indicated by many errors. For example, analyzing the image of a girl in military uniform in one of the photographs, you can notice: an incorrect image of the limbs (one leg, unnatural position of the fingers); the absence of a body and an example of a machine gun (in addition, the weapon in the photo does not resemble any of the models in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine); incorrect image of the sleeve chevron (its size and color of the flag of Ukraine). In addition, the camouflage pattern of the uniform that the people in the photo are wearing is not used in the Ukrainian army, and is generally not similar to any real-life camouflage option.

Propagandists are likely spreading such images with the aim of demoralizing Ukrainians amid the fierce fighting for Avdiivka. Allegedly, the only thing left to do is pray, everything is so bad.  Detector Media has repeatedly refuted other fakes regarding the Ukrainian military.

A screenshot is being circulated online with an alleged article from Ukrainska Pravda, which contains information that the ICTV channel, owned by Victor Pinchuk, will air the series “Volunteer of the People”. Serhii Prytula should supposedly star in the leading role. However, this is a fake.

Experts from the VoxUkraine project analyzed this case. They managed to find out that the screenshot was fake, and there was no mention of the launch of this series in the Ukrainian media. There is not a single article about the series “Volunteer of the People” on the Ukrainska Pravda website, and the latest material by journalist Mykhailo Tkach, according to a screenshot of the author of the mentioned article, was published on November 17. The publication about the series is dated November 23. That is, here is yet another proof of the falsity of the information.

This case of disinformation is intended to sow discord among the Ukrainian people. Everything would be fine, but the fact that the main character of the series should be Serhii  Prytula - a man who runs his own charitable foundation and helps the army on a large scale - aims to outrage the Ukrainians and disabuse them of Ukraine's victory.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on anonymous telegram channels and other social networks are spreading fake information that Poland is allegedly canceling payments to Ukrainian refugees from January 1, 2024. They say that Poland was Ukraine’s lawyer in the European Union, but Zelenskyi quickly managed to turn a friend into an enemy. As proof of this decision, users add a screenshot of the news from November 17, 2023, allegedly from the official website of the Polish government.

After disseminating such information, StopFake decided to check whether the Polish government really made a similar decision and reported it on the official website. As it turned out, the information disseminated is not true.

Project specialists went to the corresponding website of the Polish government, from which they allegedly took a screenshot distributed by propagandists. There is a separate page for citizens of Ukraine, containing official information for refugees in Ukrainian. Among the news published there, there is no information that the Polish government has decided to cancel social payments for refugees from January 1. The remaining publications are still relevant, in which you can familiarize yourself with all existing assistance programs. While researching this site, they also found the same picture with which Russian propaganda created a fake screenshot. The news “Living and working in Poland – 2022” uses the same image as in the false reports spread by propagandists. In addition, in the edited “announcement”, Russian propaganda made a mistake: the word “terminates” in Ukrainian should have been written in another way. This error indicates that the information may be incorrect.

The StopFake analysts note that the Polish government has indeed publicly announced a possible reduction in assistance to Ukrainian refugees. In October 2023, a representative of the Polish government, Piotr Müller, in an interview with the PAP agency, said that the decisions determined by the law on assistance to Ukrainians would probably lose force in the first quarter of next year and expressed the hope that “there is simply no need to continue them”. However, as of now, the Polish government has not announced that from January 1 all payments to Ukrainian refugees will be stopped.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to quarrel between Poles and Ukrainians, as well as to arouse mistrust of Ukrainians not only in the Polish government, but also in the Ukrainian one. Detector Media has repeatedly refuted other fakes involving Poland. The large number of Russian propaganda fictions about this country is due, among other things, to the high level of support for Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks claim that Volyn residents supposedly need to collect at least 200 liters of blood for the wounded in the 14th brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fighting near Kupiansk. The regional media Volyn Post allegedly wrote about this. However, it was discovered that the data was fake, and speculation about “colossal losses” was not confirmed.

Analysts from the VoxCheck project drew attention to the case. They found out that in early November, VolynPost actually published an appeal for Volyn residents to donate blood to support military personnel. In particular, the Volodymyr Territorial Medical Association reported that the Volodymyr department of transfusion assistance really needs donor blood of all groups and the Rh minus factor. However, the original message did not indicate the blood volume or weight of the donor, and the screenshot of the news was edited.

In fact, the donor may weigh at least 50 kg, not 200 kg as stated in the fake message. In addition, the minimum dose size for blood collection from one donor is 450 ml, and this figure does not indicate the real need of the military. Therefore, the conclusions about “400 wounded” and “colossal losses” are unconfirmed.

The VoxCheck experts note that the donation system works more efficiently when donors donate blood regularly, and not just in case of emergency. Currently, Ukraine has a system of planned donation to maintain a sustainable level of blood supplies. The need for donated blood may vary depending on the circumstances, so the Ministry of Health, the Ukrainian Transplant Coordination Center and blood centers may use different communication mechanisms with citizens.

Propagandists spread such manipulations to create the false impression of Ukraine's failure on the battlefield. All this in order to force Ukrainian society to agree to end the war on Russia’s terms.

On social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric, photos of campaign leaflets calling for “voting” for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi and against Volodymyr Zelenskyi are being distributed. The authors add that such leaflets are distributed in Zhytomyr. It's a lie.

Analysts from the VoxCheck project investigated this case and explained that these leaflets are not real, because not a single local or national media has received such news. At the same time, information about the campaigns was disseminated only on social networks in the Russian segment. Moreover, there can be no official campaign under martial law. The fact-checkers add that according to the law “On the Legal Regime of Martial Law” it is prohibited to hold elections. And on November 6, Volodymyr Zelenskyi stated that there was “no time” to hold elections.

But the absence of an official propaganda campaign does not indicate that anyone, including the Kremlin’s minions, is ready to create such a leaflet using graphic editors and then create news about the “distribution” of propaganda. Analysts have not determined the authenticity of the photo itself.

We recently analyzed the message of Russian propaganda, where they claimed that the West is allegedly preparing a coup against Zelenskyi: and they want to put Valerii Zaluzhnyi in his place, who is supposedly more favorable to Western leaders. Such stories are generally intended to convince consumers of disinformation that there is a split in the military-political leadership of Ukraine.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks claim that the National Defense University of Ukraine is asking the Porsche Ukraine car dealership to transfer a 2022 AUDI A8 Long car to complete a military unit. Like, it needs a luxury car to interact with foreign delegations. As proof, they are distributing an image of a “letter” with a request. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that the National Defense University of Ukraine denied the existence of such a “letter”. In addition, the “document” has errors; there is no seal, date or signature, which indicates that it is false. TSN journalists called the number indicated in the letter and confirmed that the person indicated in it did not make any relevant requests.

According to representatives of the National Defense University of Ukraine, propagandists created this fake news to discredit their activities. Since the educational institution is directly related to the training of personnel for the Ukrainian army, in this way propagandists are also trying to discredit the Ukrainian army as a whole. They say that it is corrupt, and therefore it is not worth risking one’s life in it.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks claim that in Ukrainian schools there is campaigning for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi for the post of President of Ukraine. They say this is confirmed by photographs where schoolchildren write on sheets of paper “Zaluzhnyi is our president” in classrooms with similar inscriptions on the board. However, this is fake.

The StopFake project specialists conducted an investigation and found that the photographs used for the fake were taken from the pages of Ukrainian users on social networks. However, they have been edited to add the necessary false inscriptions. One of the photographs was published on the volunteer page “Olia Olkyna” a few days before propaganda began distributing fake materials. In her message, she talked about volunteer activities in one of the schools, but nowhere did she mention Zaluzhnyi or campaigning for him. The real signatures on the photo, as it turned out, were in support of Ukraine, and not the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Propagandists spread such fakes to strengthen their false message about the conflict between individual representatives of the Ukrainian government. They say that a fierce struggle for the presidency has begun in Ukraine. Detector Media has repeatedly refuted a number of other fakes and manipulations aimed at personally discrediting Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

Pro-Russian resources began to disseminate information that supposedly on one of the buildings in New York there is a banner hinting at the darkening of the topic of the war in Ukraine by the situation in the Middle East - the war in Israel. They say that on the banner the slogan “Stand with Ukraine” is gradually being replaced by another: “Stand with Israel”.

This case was analyzed by experts from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. They found that the information was not true. Outdoor advertising company Clear Channel Outdoors, which has the right to place materials in the mentioned location, said in a comment to Reuters that the banner is fake.

This is not the first time that Russians have fabricated banners at different places around the world with the aim of weakening support for Ukraine from its partner countries. Previously, we refuted the information that an advertising banner was placed in New York with the inscription: “No Zelenskyi - no war”.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric are disseminating information that protesters are allegedly being recruited in Kyiv for a rally in order to support the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi. As proof, the manipulators share a fake screenshot, which was allegedly taken on a Ukrainian website for searching for various services. It's fake.

Experts from the Center for Countering Disinformation drew attention to this case. They point out that there are no such announcements on Ukrainian websites, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or anyone from the military leadership does not gather extras for events. Such statements are a series of falsehoods aimed at discrediting Valerii Zaluzhnyi, an attempt to create the erroneous impression that there is a split in the Ukrainian military-political leadership, and President Zelenskyi is trying in every possible way to get rid of the commander-in-chief because of the latter’s disloyalty.

A week ago, a deepfake was spreading on social networks, allegedly Valerii Zaluzhnyi called on the population of Ukraine to take to the squares of their cities, and the military not to obey “criminal orders of the authorities”. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine really did not make such an appeal and did not call for a military coup. At the same time, fake news appeared that the current Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Rustem Umierov, recently proposed the dismissal of Valerii Zaluzhnyi. In response to this, Umierov responded that this was a fake. Shortly before this, swindlers created a fake telegram channel for Valerii Zaluzhnyi and sent out discreditable messages.

Anonymous Telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric are distributing a screenshot of an alleged article by the media Ukrainska Pravda with the headline “Officers of the 128th Brigade, suspected of selling weapons to Hamas, have died”. Also, Russian propaganda reports about 50 dead servicemen and hints that it was not an accident. It is not true.

The case was investigated by fact-checkers of the Center for Countering Disinformation. In fact, such an article does not exist in the publication Ukrainska Pravda. As a result of the Russian attack, 19 soldiers of the 128 separate mountain assault brigade died, not 50, as the propagandists wrote.

In this way, the Russians are trying to discredit the Ukrainian military and continue to spread fakes that Ukraine is selling Western weapons to Hamas. Earlier, we refuted the fake that Hamas representatives recorded a video in which they thanked Zelenskyi for the weapons provided.

Pro-Russian resources claim that allegedly “swindlers from Ukraine” blackmailed the family of German and Israeli citizen Shani Luk, who was kidnapped by Hamas militants. After it became known about the girl’s kidnapping, the Ukrainians began calling her family on behalf of Hamas and demanding a ransom of 500 thousand euros. The police who investigated the case of the already deceased Shani Luk seemed to come to this conclusion. Propagandists referred to a screenshot of “news published by the German newspaper WDR”. It's fake.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project began to analyze the information. After independently searching for this news on the website of the German publication WDR, they found out that such material was not published on this news resource. A Google search also did not yield any results about the alleged ransom demand from “Ukrainian scammers”. In addition, there was no mention of a police investigation into this case in reputable German or other media.

Russian propaganda, using the author's style of a German newspaper, tried to justify the actions of Hamas and denigrate Ukraine. The Kremlin is trying to demonize Ukraine in the eyes of ordinary Russian citizens in order to justify the war crimes of its army in Ukraine. Also, by spreading these types of fakes, propagandists hope to weaken international support for Ukraine so that it will not be able to finance defense needs. Previously, we denied information that allegedly former porn actress Mia Khalifa thanked Ukraine for helping Hamas.

Such information was disseminated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels disseminating pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that the Ukrainian charitable foundation BF Free is looking for a person who preaches “LGBT ideology”. The authors of the message report that the fund’s employees allegedly published such a vacancy on the Ukrainian job search site Work.ua. Photo evidence is added to publications - a screenshot of the vacancy. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the Georgian Myth Detector project began to analyze the case and found out that the charitable foundation did not create such a vacancy and was not looking for a single “LGBT preacher”. They wrote about this on their pages on social networks. In their posts, the organizations emphasize that the main purpose of the fake news is to discredit their activities. The specialists also checked whether the vacancy actually existed on the job search site. According to the search results, they did not record this. It is most likely that the screenshot was compiled using Photoshop.

There is simply no LGBT propaganda. In our Newspeak section, we explained why a terrorist country is horrified by diversity and cherishes exclusively “traditional values” among its citizens. In short, Moscow shows how being part of the LGBTQIA community is considered unacceptable, discrediting a person or why a person is considered “wrong”. Consumers of propaganda may be under the false impression that everything related to LGBT people is negative. Homosexuality is as natural as heterosexuality.

Russian propaganda presents any attempts by Ukraine to create a tolerant environment as a direct threat to people. Allegedly, they will suffer from the dominance of “Sodom”, which is why, according to the Kremlin’s conclusions, Ukrainians are being turned into homosexuals. We described the horrors of Western “homodictatorship” and how Europe influences Ukraine in a large study about homophobia on social networks.

By the way, read how Russia is trying to protect children from the “undesirable influence of LGBT people” here. Find out how it also justifies its invasion as an “LGBT invasion” in a study based on the results of an analysis of messages during the year of a full-scale invasion.

Such information was disseminated on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that VICKS allegedly launched an ad for a nasal spray in New York City featuring an animated character who “looks like Volodymyr Zelenskyi”. The authors of the message add a video where the hero strongly inhales air and then explodes. The video ends with the slogan: “VICKS helps increase the capabilities of your nose!”. It's a lie.

The VoxCheck fact-checkers analyzed the case and found that the VICKS company reported that they did not run this advertisement, but rather a compiled video. After all, no media came out with this news, and the video was only distributed on social networks in the Russian segment. In fact, experts used a reverse search on Google to discover the location of the likely advertisement. The fake video also contains other advertisements: for example, on the screen nearby they advertise the Amazon Freevee platform, where one can watch the series Jury Duty. Although the film was still released in April 2023. It is unlikely that it will be advertised 6 months later.

We have repeatedly documented hoaxes involving fake graffiti or covers on foreign magazines, newspaper columns or advertisements. Thus, propagandists seek to show that their rhetoric (for example, that Zelenskyi is hated by the whole world) is also repeated in the West. So it may seem to readers that the public is really dissatisfied with Ukraine. And especially when the authors use elements of popular culture, hinting that people are mocking the situation in Ukraine, and that the Ukrainian agenda for Europe is a reason to laugh.

Anonymous telegram channels in the Russian segment are distributing a photo of an allegedly Ukrainian military ID of “foreign mercenary” Brian Boenger. The document contains the fighter’s personal data, and also contains a separate photograph: a photograph of both guys kissing. This is how the authors convince that this is a photograph of an American. They also add that this ID was found in the Zaporizhzhia direction and that “his beloved friend waits in vain for the military” hinting at the probable destruction of the American military man.

The analysts from the VoxCheck project began analyzing the case and found that the photos of the military ID were partially compiled. The figure of the American fighter Brian Boenger is real, and he fought in Ukraine. Using a reverse search, the fact-checkers found that the image of an American soldier’s military ID was indeed published in journalistic materials back in 2016.

And to create a fake photograph, propagandists superimposed on the image of a real military ID a photo of a stranger and a photo of two guys kissing.

Moreover, Brian Boenger is not a “foreign mercenary”; in April 2016, he entered into an official contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At that time, the decree allowing foreigners or stateless persons to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine was signed by the then President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko back in November 2015.

Russian propaganda systematically fuels the narrative that professional military personnel from other states - the so-called “foreign mercenaries” - are fighting in Ukraine. Thus, Russian propaganda also tries to justify the failures of the Russian army. They say they are not fighting “weak” Ukrainians, but “specially trained NATO members” or Americans. Moreover, Russian propaganda spreads fake news about hiring students, the unemployed, and they like to show that in Ukraine there is no one left to fight and they are recruiting “everyone in a row”.

By the way, in our Newspeak section we talked about Russia that recruits mercenaries, in particular, Wagner group representatives. This is essentially a terrorist organization within the Russian army.

Such information was disseminated on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the Ukrainian branch of McDonald's allegedly released a cherry McPie, the packaging of which states that the product “may contain the bones of Russian babies”. Photo evidence is added to publications. It's a lie.

The VoxCheck fact-checkers analyzed the case and came to the conclusion that the note about “Russian babies” was added in a photo editor. At the same time, McDonald’s did not change the packaging and recipes of the products; such information was not published either on the company’s official website or on their pages on social networks. Experts add that most likely the original source of the stuffing was Ukrainian users who jokingly distributed the photo on the social network X (formerly Twitter). But propagandists picked it up and passed it off as real McDonald's products.

At the same time, the photo itself has been edited. The checkers checked this fact using a special tool called FotoForensics. Moreover, the original font and the inscription “may contain bones” differ from the phrase “of Russian babies”, so it was simply superimposed using a special photo editor.