Spilnota Detector Media

Fake Ukrainian operators sent “Welcome to Russia” SMS messages

Propagandists on anonymous telegram channels with pro-Russian rhetoric are spreading images in which the Ukrainian telecom operators Kyivstar and Vodafone allegedly sent an SMS message with the following text in Russian: “Welcome to Russia, one of the hospitable countries in the world. Enjoy your vacation, and we will take care of the connection”. Allegedly, such messages were received due to the mass shutdown of mobile communications. It's fake.

Specialists in the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They contacted the mentioned mobile operators, who replied that no such messages were sent and that there were no failures that could lead to such (for example, hacker attacks). In addition, Kyivstar noted that the messages on the images contain errors and traces of editing. For example, all lines have different distances, and the propagandists wrote the word “today” as “tday”. The company also reminded that it adds the date, year and exact time of sending the message at the end.

Thus, propagandists want to cause panic among Ukrainians. They take advantage of the fact that such messages come while staying in another country and want to make the population believe that Russia allegedly occupied certain territories. However, such fakes are easy to disprove due to their errors.

Fake The Spanish magazine El jueves published a cover in which the Ukrainian military refuses to counteroffensive

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that a Spanish satirical magazine recently published the cover of their magazine titled “What counteroffensive? We have the previous one to eat up and up!”. The cover itself shows a skeleton with ammunition, supposedly symbolizing the Ukrainian military. The authors add that the whole world is mocking Zelenskyi's plans for a counteroffensive. It is not true. 

Specialists of the Center for Countering Disinformation investigated this case and found out that such a cover does not exist. The last issue was released on May 3 under the number 2387, at the same time on the edited cover the number 2388 is indicated. We have repeatedly debunked fakes related to fake covers on foreign magazines/newspapers. 

Thus, propagandists seek to show that their rhetoric (for example, that Ukraine will fail the counteroffensive) is also being repeated in the West. So, readers may think that the public is really dissatisfied with Ukraine, especially when the authors use fake covers of humorous magazines, hinting that people are laughing at the situation in Ukraine and that the Ukrainian agenda for Europe is a reason to laugh.

Fake Photos of Olena Zelenska's vacation on a nudist beach in Israel appeared

Anonymous telegram channels, the Russian segment of Facebook and media with  pro-Kremlin rhetoric spread a photo allegedly with Olena Zelenska. The first lady seemed to be relaxing on a nudist beach in Israel, while Volodymyr Zelenskyi “begged for weapons in Europe”. The photo was allegedly taken on April 25, 2023. It's fake. 

The case was investigated by the fact-checkers of the Myth Detector project. The photograph circulated by Russian propagandists does not show Olena Zelenska, but Russian TV presenter Olena Lenina. In October 2022, this photo already appeared on Facebook. Then this statement was refuted by the fact-checkers of the French agency AFP and determined that the photo depicts the Russian woman Lenina. Moreover, on April 26, 2023, Olena Zelenska took part in the ceremony of friendship between the British and Ukrainian libraries, along with King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla. And on April 27, she spoke during a live broadcast from Kyiv at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, where she spoke about Ukrainian children forcibly taken to Russia. 

By systematically spreading fakes about Olena Zelenska, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit her in the eyes of Ukrainians and Western partners and deprive her of international support. Earlier, Detector Media told how Russian propagandists discredit Olena Zelenska.

Manipulation The Eiffel Tower was illuminated with the colors of Belarus and Russia flags

On June 4, 2023, the Georgian segment of Facebook disseminates information that the Eiffel Tower in France was illuminated with the colors of the Russian and Belarusian flags for 2 nights in a row. The message contains 2 photographs: on one the tower is highlighted in white, blue and red, and on the other - in green and red. This is manipulation. 

The fact-checkers of the Myth Detector project drew attention to the case. They determined that the photo of the Eiffel Tower in red and green colors was taken in 2016, and the colors themselves symbolize the flag of Portugal, not Belarus. During the UEFA European Champions League final, telecommunications company Orange launched a campaign in which it illuminated the Eiffel Tower in the colors of the participating countries that would get the most engagement on social media. Although Russia was one of the 24 participating teams, there is not a single mention in the media that the tower was illuminated in the colors of the flag of this country. As for the Russian flag, the fact-checkers found a photo of the tower in a Russian blog highlighted in red, white and blue, probably edited.

After all, along with the photo in the article, they called for special hashtags to be put on social networks so that the Eiffel Tower would be illuminated in the colors of the Russian flag. In June 2023, the Eiffel Tower was not highlighted in the color of any country - one can check this on social networks. As for the colors of the flags of other countries, the last time the Eiffel Tower was illuminated with the colors of the Ukrainian flag was on February 23, 2023, a year after the start of the Ukrainian-Russian war. By spreading such fakes, Russian propagandists are trying to discredit the West, sow discouragement among Ukrainian society and show that the support of international partners has allegedly weakened. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the manipulation that the West would stop supporting Ukraine if it failed the counteroffensive.

Fake The German edition of Eulenspiegel published a cover titled Ukraine Raises Money For Suicide

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that recently the German publication Eulenspiegel published the cover of its magazine called Ukraine continues to collect money from everywhere for its suicide. It is not true.

Specialists of the Center for Countering Disinformation investigated this case and found that such a cover does not exist. Instead, with the specified barcode on the fake cover, one can find a real one: it has a different image and inscription on it. This fact was checked by the fact-checkers on the official website of the German magazine.

We have repeatedly refuted fakes related to fake covers on magazines / newspapers of foreign production. In fact, in this way propagandists seek to show that their rhetoric (for example, that Ukraine is groaning for money) is also repeated in Europe. So, readers may get the impression that the public is really dissatisfied with Ukraine. And especially when the authors use fake covers of humorous magazines, hinting that people are making fun of the situation in Ukraine and that the Ukrainian agenda for Europe is a reason to laugh.

Fake Marilyn Manson published a new version of the cover of his album with “Zelenskyi - antichrist”

Propagandists in anonymous telegram channels with Russian rhetoric are spreading information that Marilyn Manson has allegedly published a new version of the cover of his album Antichrist superstar on his Instagram stories. It has the word superstar crossed out, a blurry trident in the colors of the Ukrainian flag, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi with red eyes. Manson allegedly released the cover, along with lines from the song: “I don't like drugs. But drugs love me”. It's fake. 

Analysts of the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They looked through the official accounts of the performer and did not find such a publication, as well as other publications of an anti-Ukrainian nature. In addition, they did not find any material from Ukrainian or foreign media on this matter. The original version of the 1996 album Antichrist superstar features Marilyn Manson himself.

By writing such stories, propagandists want to personally discredit the President of Ukraine and make the population doubt his actions. Allegedly, he continues to wage war, because he is constantly under drugs, and therefore it is necessary to surrender to Russia. However, in this way, Russia also wants to divert attention from its crimes, playing with religious sentiment.

Fake On the cover, the French edition of Courrier International published a caricature of Zaluzhnyi

Screenshots of the alleged cover of the magazine with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi are distributed in the Russian segment of Facebook, telegram channels and Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. In the caricature, Zaluzhnyi and the Ukrainian soldiers are sitting in a boat and sailing along the Styx River - the river, according to mythology, is a transition to the other world. This cartoon is fake.

Myth Detector specialists drew attention to the case. There was no such cover in any May issue of Courrier International, including the special issue. On May 25, a cover was published with serial number 1699, which does not include Zaluzhnyi. This is the last issue of the magazine to date. However, Russian propaganda published a detailed cover on the edition numbered 1700. Also, Courrier International's website does not have this cartoon in the specials section.

Thus, propagandists are trying to show that the West is allegedly tired of the war and really supports Russia, while in Ukraine they do not value human lives. Earlier, Detector Media debunked such reports, in particular, the “cover” of The New European with a caricature of Zelenskyi.

Fake Zelenskyi is a “naked clown”, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine official Twitter account wrote

Pro-Russian users of social networks on Facebook and Twitter are spreading a screenshot allegedly from the official Twitter account of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. In a tweet published on December 22, 2018, before the presidential elections in Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense allegedly calls Volodymyr Zelenskyi a “naked clown” and an “American puppet”  and urges not to vote for “this piece of shit” because he will “destroy our country with the help of NATO”. It's fake.

The fact-checkers of the Reuters media drew attention to the case. This tweet was not found in a Twitter search on a verified account of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and Google. Also, searching for news by keywords in English and Ukrainian in Google did not bring any results. Also, Reuters specialists did not find this tweet in the archived versions of the confirmed Ministry of Defense Twitter profile.

Fact-checkers found out that the screenshot was edited. After all, photos posted on Twitter have rounded edges. However, in the screenshot they are square.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, humiliate Volodymyr Zelenskyi and show that even representatives of the Ukrainian authorities allegedly do not respect him.

Earlier, Detector Media talked about the message that Zelenskyi allegedly sold Ukraine to a Western fund.

Fake The news about the Ukrainian military was illustrated by the image of pigs in trucks

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting Kremlin rhetoric have circulated an article by Russian media citing CNN about US plans to expand military training from Ukraine. Russian propaganda writes that the article used an image of a truck with pigs. It's fake.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project drew attention to the case. They note that neither the Russian media nor CNN have published images of the pigs in the truck. This was verified using the Internet Archive tool.

Also, the CNN article does say that US President Biden's administration is considering training 2,500 Ukrainian troops at a US base in Germany. However, a different photo was used in the news. The results of checking with the Internet Archive showed that the CNN publication did not include a photo of pigs in a truck.

Thus, Russian propaganda wants to sow doubts about the sincerity of the support of the Americans and show that they despise the Ukrainians. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that the Ukrainian military allegedly massively complains about equipment supplied by the United States.

Fake On the building of the Bundestag, they installed the “red flag of Victory”

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that before May 9, a “red flag of Victory” was placed on the building of the Bundestag. The authors of the messages add photos and videos, as if the Soviet flag with a hammer and sickle flutters over the parliament building. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to the case, and found out that not a single flag was set over the Bundestag, even without authorization. The Soviet flag was not on the parliament building. This was confirmed by the representatives of the administration of the German parliament in their comments to the news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur. Fact-checkers are convinced that the videos are edited and the photos are edited using Photoshop. This is indicated by various inaccuracies that the fact-checkers recorded. For example, in the video, the Soviet flag and the German flag are flying in different directions, although they are “placed” relatively close to each other. Moreover, such photos can only be found in the Russian segment of social networks.

By spreading such fakes, Russia once again seeks to show its greatness to the “Nazi West” since the message about the “red flag of Victory over the Reichstag” is an allusion to the image of a Soviet soldier raising the Soviet flag to the Reichstag in Berlin a few days before the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945.

Fake In Ukraine, they sell a candle “House of Trade Unions” with the aroma of “marshmallow on fire”

Anonymous telegram channels spreading pro-Russian rhetoric posted a photo of a candle called “House of Trade Unions” with the scent of "marshmallow on a fire”, allegedly sold in Ukrainian online stores. It's fake.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project drew attention to the case. They used the Internet image search engine TinEye to find a photo of a candle called “House of Trade Unions”. A similar image was found on the Rawpixel photo stock. Both the distributed and the original photo have the inscriptions “Soy wax candke” and 8.7 FL./OZ, the same highlights, the shape and color of the jar and lid. However, experts note that the photo distributed by the propagandists was edited.

Also, experts did not find a single mention in Google of the sale or manufacture of candles “House of Trade Unions”. There are other candles on sale with a photo that was distributed by propagandists, with the inscriptions “World without Russia”, “I like how it burns” and “Bandera smoothie”.

By creating such fakes, propagandists are trying to dehumanize Ukrainians, saying that they are real killers and criminals. And also to justify the crimes of Russia, shifting responsibility from the aggressor to the victim of aggression. Earlier, Detector Media explained the Russian message that allegedly the Nazis burned people alive in Odesa in 2014, and they also refuted the fake that they allegedly sell wax chalk from the True Pencil brand in Ukraine with inscriptions like “Blood in which we will drown Crimea” , “Fire when we burn Moscow”.

Fake The cover of the German newspaper Handelsblatt depicted how the Europeans are trying to kill Zelenskyi

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say issue No 77 of the German newspaper Handelsblatt came out with a cover in which representatives of European countries want to kill Zelenskyi. The headline on the cover is “New Conditions for the Grain Trade”. It is not true.

This was noticed by VoxCheck fact-checkers, who found out that the real issue No 77 of Handelsblatt had a different cover. Actually, under number 77, the newspaper has a completely different cover. The newspaper came out on April 20, while the fake cover appeared online on April 19. Issue No 76, published on April 19, also did not have a cover with Zelenskyi.

Fake The Spanish satirical magazine El Jueves dedicated its cover to Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the Ukrainian military writhing in pain

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Spanish satirical magazine El Jueves has reportedly published a cover with Zelenskyi and Ukrainian soldiers writhing in pain. In front of them is a basket filled with male genitalia. Also, on the cover is the inscription: “Their last holy week”. It is not true.

VoxCheck fact checkers checked this case and found out that there was no such cover in any of the issues of El Jueves magazine. On the cover that was distributed online, the issue number is 2375. Although in fact, the issue with this number has a different cover and was published on November 29, 2022. Actually, on the official website of the publication you can find this issue. However, there is no such cover with Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the Ukrainian military.

VoxCheck fact-checkers checked this case and found out that there was no such cover in any of the issues of El Jueves magazine. On the cover that was distributed online, the issue number is 2375. Although in fact, the issue with this number has a different cover and was published on November 29, 2022. Actually, on the official website of the publication one can find this issue. However, there is no such cover with Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the Ukrainian military.

Fake Zelenskyi supports Russia as he wears shoes with the letter “Z”

In the Lithuanian segment of Facebook, information has spread that Volodymyr Zelenskyi wears shoes with the letter Z, a symbol of the Russian invasion. As proof, they added a cropped video from an interview with the President of Ukraine to the German TV channel ZDF, where this letter is clearly visible on his shoes. Also behind the scenes, a man swears and allegedly asks for shoes. This is manipulation.

The journalists of the 15min project drew attention to the case. The sound superimposed on the video is from the meme and does not concern Zelenskyi's shoes. As for the shoes themselves, the President of Ukraine wears New Balance sneakers and the letter N, the brand logo, is embroidered on them. In the video, the President of Ukraine crossed his legs and leaned on the floor with the toe of his sneaker. That is why the letter N became similar to Z.

Russian propaganda is systematically trying to discredit the President of Ukraine, to convince Ukrainians of his insincerity and to impose the opinion that he supports Russia and does not believe in the victory of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Earlier, Detector Media denied fakes that Zelenskyi allegedly has a Russian passport, Ukrainians allegedly protested against him, and he himself seems to be dreaming of uniting part of the territories of Ukraine with Poland.

Fake In the New European magazine on its cover, they published a cartoon ridiculing Zelenskyi

Propagandists are spreading a photo according to which the British magazine The New European allegedly published a cartoon on the cover of one of its issues, in which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi sits on the lap of the Dalai Lama who put forward his tongue. Zelensky seems to be saying “I'll suck it if you pay me!”, which is a parody of the situation with the Dalai Lama and the boy to whom he offered to “suck his tongue”. In the drawing, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak glares at the other two characters, and at the top of the drawing is the title: “How much is Britain willing to pay to solve the Ukrainian crisis?”. It's fake.

It was noticed by many fact-checking projects, by particular, in Mythdetector. Project specialists found out that the cover is not real. The real cover of number 337, shown on the fake, features a photo of the current British Prime Minister with the heading: “Rishi Sunak's war on the elites”. In addition, the publication on its Twitter published a photo from the printed issue of the magazine, which, under the heading “Lies of the Week”, depicts the mentioned cartoon.

By publishing fake covers of foreign publications, propagandists want to show that the West seems to understand and support Russia's actions, while Ukraine seems to have tired everyone. Detector Media has already debunked such reports, in particular, “covers” of Charlie Hebdo.

Fake Defense Ministers of Ukraine and Lithuania divide the territory of Ukraine between neighboring states

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that the ministers of defense of Ukraine and Lithuania divide the territory of Ukraine between neighboring states - Hungary, Romania and Poland. As proof, the authors add to the publication a photo where, supposedly, flags of other countries are located on a large map of Ukraine. It's fake.

The case was examined by the VoxCheck fact checkers, who determined that the photo was edited in a special editor. There were no cards in the original photo. Using a reverse image search on Google Lens, fact-checkers discovered that the photo was taken during a visit by the Lithuanian Defense Minister to Kharkiv. The minister tweeted a photo from Kharkiv, one of them with Oleksii Reznikov. The Minister of Defense of Lithuania signed the flag, there are no maps of Ukraine and the division of its territories between neighboring states. On a fake photo, for example, signs of editing are visible in several places, the lines of the “map” are unequal.

Fake On Easter , the Romanian military congratulated the Ukrainian army with a photo of the cemetery

This message appeared in the Russian propaganda media. According to it, the command of the Romanian Ground Forces congratulated the Ukrainian army on Easter with a postcard, which allegedly depicts a cemetery at the top. “Against the background of thousands of losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, such a greeting looks very strange”, the propagandists add. It's fake.

As StopFake analysts note, the postcard was not addressed to the Ukrainian military. Neither in the publication nor in the picture is there any mention of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the image of the coat of arms of the General Staff of the Romanian Land Forces and its main element - the golden eagle - also has nothing to do with Ukraine. Also, the postcard does not show a cemetery. The three crosses that propaganda calls a cemetery symbolize the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Thus, the propagandists are trying to discredit the cooperation between Ukraine and Romania. Earlier, Detector Media wrote about a fake spread by Russian propaganda media that allegedly Romania claimed Ukraine to be part of it.

Fake In response to its advertising campaign, Louis Vuitton urged Ukrainians to “learn geography”

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. French brand Louis Vuitton, as part of its advertising campaign, has reportedly posted a story on Instagram “learn geography” in Ukrainian language. Like, this is the answer of the fashion house to the indignation of Ukrainians regarding the choice of colors for the advertising campaign. As evidence, the authors of the messages add a screenshot from the Louis Vuitton articles to the publications. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project investigated this case and found that the screenshot was edited using a graphics editor. As fact-checkers say, they find such a “screenshot” only in the Russian segment of social networks. At the same time, Louis Vuitton did not comment on the reactions of the Ukrainians.

In their #LVFW23 advertising campaign, the fashion house presented the flag in the colors of the national flag of France (blue, white and red). They also added black, which is captured in the brand's signature letter “V”. Propagandists immediately began to say that France supports Russia and the so-called DNR, which uses the same colors in its advertising campaign. However, the fashion house did not comment on the decision to create such an advertising campaign.

Fake The New European, British newspaper, dedicated its cover to Zelenskyi who is sitting on the lap of the Dalai Lama

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say British weekly newspaper The New European has published a cover purporting to show Volodymyr Zelenskyi sitting on the Dalai Lama's lap with a disgruntled British prime minister standing by. Also, on the cover there is the inscription: “How much money is a Briton willing to pay to end the “Ukrainian crisis””. This is not true.

The fact-checkers of the Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council drew attention to the case, and determined that such a cover does not exist. Fact-checkers went to the official website of the publication and found that the indicated number of the newspaper on the fake cover (No. 337) had not even been published yet. Now on the official website there is only a newspaper under the number 336.

Propagandists systematically spread fake stories about Ukrainian officials, in particular Zelenskyi, in order to discredit him. Thus, Russian propaganda uses the tactics of ridicule and tries to create the illusion that the leadership of Ukraine is despised in Europe. Previously, propagandists spread messages about fake graffiti with Zelenskyi in public places, fake magazine covers, etc.

For example, earlier analysts of Detector Media refuted the fake about another cover with the image of Zelenskyi who was numb from the evil Jesus and Putin.

Fake On its cover, Charlie Hebdo depicted Zelenskyi as a symbol of mockery of the Ukrainian church

A photo of the cover of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which depicts Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, Russian President Volodymyr Putin and Jesus Christ, is circulating on social networks. A description is added to the photo that the cover symbolizes Zelenskyi's “church race”, which angered even Jesus Christ, whom Putin supposedly calms down and says: “Don't! We'll figure it out ourselves!”. In fact, Charlie Hebdo never published an issue with this cover.

 Analysts at the Myth Detector project found that the cover published by the French satirical magazine on April 5 does not match the published versions, and there are no similar cartoons on the covers of Charlie Hebdo special issues. Charlie Hebdo's circulated cover bears a serial number (1603) and a release date of April 5. According to the official website of the publication, on April 5, a magazine with serial number 1602 was released, which has a different design. The cover is on the theme of the protests caused by the new pension reform in France.

This is not the first time Russian propaganda has been distributing fabricated covers of various Western publications, which allegedly mock the Ukrainian president. Thus, Russian propaganda seeks to discredit Volodymyr Zelenskyi and create the appearance that the level of trust in the Ukrainian president will fall in the West. Like, the Western community is already beginning to understand “who he really is”.

Fake In Milan, a stand with Zelenskyi who “absorbs money” was installed

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, in telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that a stand with Zelenskyi has been set up in Milan, which “absorbs money” through the nostril. As proof, the authors attach a shot to their messages, in which people try to move money through the nostril, and a special mechanism “absorbs” them. It is not true.

The Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council says that the video is not real, since there is no such stand that “takes money” from behind a nostril in Milan. In particular, experts cite a number of signs of a fabricated video:

One of the fragments clearly shows how a couple of venerable age has an “unnatural look”;

The “video material” itself is glued together from many frames, since in this way the authors sought to hide the ongoing manipulations with the video. There was no clear shot from start to finish.

Fake Numb to the evil Jesus and Putin, Zelenskyi was featured on the cover of “Charlie Hebdo” satirical newspaper

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo featured Zelenskyi on the cover, numb to the “evil Jesus” and Putin trying to “keep” Jesus from attacking Zelenskyi. It is not true.

The Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council says that such a cover does not exist. Fact-checkers went to the official website of the newspaper, and did not find a similar cover. Also, the unreliability of the column is confirmed by the fact that on April 05, 2023 No.1602 was published, but not No.1603, as indicated on the fake cover.

Propagandists systematically spread fake stories about Ukrainian officials, in particular Zelenskyi, in order to discredit him. Thus, Russian propaganda uses the tactics of ridicule and tries to create the illusion that the leadership of Ukraine is despised in Europe. Previously, propagandists spread messages about fake graffiti with Zelenskyi in public places, fake magazine covers, etc.

Fake Zelenskyi steals Easter from the French, the French edition of Courrier International dedicated the cover to it

Pro-Russian telegram channels are distributing a seemingly new cover of the French weekly Courrier International, in which Zelenskyi, with the words “Ukraine needs it more”, steals Easter eggs from French children. Like, the local taxpayers spend a lot of money on the whims of Zelenskyi to support Ukraine. However, this is not true.

According to experts from the Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council, the weekly Courrier International has never been published with such a cover. One can verify this by checking the official website of the publication. Another confirmation of the inauthenticity of the cover is that it was published in edition number 1692, although the edition with this number is planned to be released only on April 6, 2023.

This disinformation campaign is aimed at discrediting Ukraine and its President in the eyes of the world community. Let us recall that this is not the first time Russian propaganda has promoted fake covers to denigrate Zelenskyi's reputation. The French cartoon magazine “Charlie Hebdo”, the German satirical magazine “Titanic”, the American weekly “Newsweek”, the French magazine “FRANC-TIREUR” and others have already been used to spread such fakes.

Fake Bakhmut’s encirclement is good, Elon Musk commented on Twitter

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Elon Musk tweeted that Bakhmut was “almost surrounded and it’s good”. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project drew attention to the case, and determined that the comment “and it’s good” was about a different thread, and not about Bakhmut. As the fact-checkers explain, Elon Musk wrote the comment “It’s good” in response to one of the users, and this can be seen from the screenshots distributed by propagandists. Through searching, they found exactly this answer. It has nothing to do with Bakhmut, because Musk's comment is in the thread about mattresses that can regulate the temperature.

Fake On the covers of their recent publications, the American Newsweek and the French FRANC-TIREUR ridiculed Zelenskyi

Propagandists distribute photos, allegedly foreign publications, namely the American magazine Newsweek and the French magazine FRANC-TIREUR on March 21 came out with covers that ridicule the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi. Like, the meeting between the President of Russia and the leader of China left him behind the geopolitical trends. It's fake.

Analysts of the Georgian project MythDetector drew attention to it. They found out that the special edition of Newsweek, as stated on the fake cover, was not published on March 21st. Moreover, there are no regular editions of the magazine with this date, as the official website of the American Newsweek shows. On the FRANC-TIREUR website, it is also impossible to find a cover that is being distributed by propagandists.

Thus, they are trying to discredit the President of Ukraine and show that even in the West they supposedly understand what a geopolitical defeat Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow has become for them. This cover game is part of the disinformation campaign associated with this visit. Detector Media wrote about its main messages, including how Russia is trying to present it as a sign of a productive rapprochement.