Propagandists are disseminating information in the Russian media that the representative of the Netherlands at the Eurovision 2024 international song contest, Joost Klein, was disqualified precisely because of his public statements about his love for Russia and complaints from Ukrainians. Although they themselves clarify that the “Ukrainian theme” was not the main reason for this decision. This is manipulation.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found that even if Ukraine had complaints about the performer's past actions, such as releasing a song about “loving Russian women” or concerts in St. Petersburg after the start of a full-scale invasion, this did not cause his disqualification. Organizers said he was eliminated due to an incident backstage in which Klein allegedly attacked a crew member.

The Dutch delegation indicated that, in its opinion, Klein's disqualification was too severe a measure for the offense committed. The European Language Union, which organizes the competition, has determined that Klein's participation is no longer appropriate given the legal process in this case.

Propagandists spread such manipulations to discredit Ukrainians, create conflict between viewers from different countries and replace the true reasons for the exclusion of a participant with politically motivated ones. Detector Media conducted an online text broadcast of the grand final of Eurovision 2024, where he explained the details of the situation with the disqualification of the Netherlands.