Russian media spread false information claiming that Greece, together with several EU states, had allegedly blocked the introduction of new restrictions on issuing visas to Russian citizens. The original source of this claim was the Greek outlet Pronews.gr, which did not cite any official sources but instead referred to a post on the social network X by an anonymous user under the nickname Spetsnaℤ 007. The fake was debunked by fact-checkers from The Insider.

The user, who identifies himself as a “citizen of the Russian Federation”, has previously spread pro-Russian disinformation. In particular, in March 2024 he claimed that Russia’s Pacific Fleet was heading toward the coast of Yemen for a possible confrontation with British and U.S. ships. He illustrated this “news” with a photo from a rehearsal of a naval parade in Kronstadt in 2018.

There is no evidence that Greece or any other countries actually blocked an EU decision. Agentstvo noted that Pronews.gr has repeatedly spread fakes: in 2022, the outlet falsely attributed offshore accounts in the Seychelles to Josep Borrell, and in 2023 it reported the alleged destruction of a secret NATO bunker in Ukraine.

The Insider and The Bell removed their publications, while Vot Tak replaced the fake news item with a correction. At the same time, Kremlin-linked outlets, including TASS, RIA Novosti, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, and others, continue to spread the false information.