Spilnota Detector Media

Fake The Ukrainian government allegedly spends 72 million hryvnia on 900 thousand draft notices

Propagandists claim on anonymous Telegram channels that the Ukrainian government is allegedly spending 72 million hryvnias on printing and sending out 900 thousand draft notices for mobilization by the end of 2024, while the amount spent on draft notices is supposedly only 18 million hryvnias. The remaining 54 million hryvnias, according to the propagandists, will be used in a non-transparent manner or stolen, hinting at corruption in the Ukrainian government. Propagandists use this fake to manipulate figures, claiming that the cost of printing one draft notice is about 20 hryvnias. However, this is a fake.

As can be seen from the screenshot of the news on Ukrainska Pravda, which is referred to by propagandists in some publications with this fake, 72 million hryvnia is the total amount, which includes expenses not only for printing the draft notices, but also for organizing delivery via postal services. This includes payment for printing, packaging, mailing, as well as overhead costs associated with centralization and ensuring the process. In addition, the cost of one draft notices includes not only the costs of paper and printing, but also related elements, such as confirmation of receipt and other logistical procedures that ensure the efficiency and accuracy of delivery.

The fake is aimed at creating an image of a corrupt government that allegedly mismanages budget funds. Propagandists are trying to destroy citizens’ trust in the Ukrainian authorities and to bolster support for mobilization processes. Russian propagandists are trying to influence the population of Ukraine by creating a feeling that the state is inefficiently using resources during the war. By spreading false claims about excessive spending and corruption, propagandists are trying to cause discontent among the population, especially in the context of economic and social tension caused by the war. Creating an image of a corrupt Ukraine can also influence the international community that provides support to Ukraine. Propaganda is trying to undermine the confidence of international partners in the effectiveness of governance in Ukraine and the appropriateness of providing further assistance.

Fake Kremlin fake: the VISA payment system is finally returning to Russian territory

Pro-Russian sources are spreading the “news” that one of the world's largest payment systems, Visa, is returning to the Russian market. As “proof” of this, the propagandists cite information provided by Visa to Rospatent (in Ukraine, Ukrpatent, an organization that registers intellectual property) requesting an update of its trademarks for banking services and cryptocurrency in Russia.

However, Visa is not returning to the Russian market. The company has not even announced such a decision on any of its official pages. And the payment system has no legal right to return to Russia due to the effect of American sanctions. Government sanctions require Visa to suspend access to its network for a number of Russian financial companies, including the country's central bank and the country's second-largest financial institution, VTB Bank.

That is, returning to the Russian market would be a direct violation of US sanctions. And updating the trademarks, which Visa actually did in Russia, is standard practice to preserve the right to use certain technologies and its own brand and logo in the country. For example, in this way the company avoids reproduction or imitation of the brand by Russia.

Fake Refutation of the fact that teachers in Ukrainian schools “force” students to donate money to the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Pro-Kremlin media are distributing a photo from a student's school diary, in which the teacher allegedly drew the parents' attention to the fact that the child had failed to donate money to the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the third time — and as a result, wrote comments in the diary. The teacher then threatens to contact the SBU if the parents do not pay attention to the lack of donations.

In fact, the Russians forged a photo of the diary and the inscription in it. Several errors indicate forgery. In particular, the propagandists write “native language” in the list of school subjects. While the correct name of the subject is “Ukrainian language”, the subject “Native language” simply does not exist in Ukrainian schools.

At the same time, the fakers write that if the parents ignore the “problem”, the teacher will contact the SBU. But all donations to the army in Ukraine are voluntary. Law enforcement officers can accept the application, but most likely will not consider it, because refusing to donate does not violate any law.

Read on Censor.NET: Refutation of the fake that children in Ukraine are forced to donate blood for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, photo evidence

Fake From September 1, 2024, Ukrainian children can receive 15 thousand hryvnias monthly for three years

A video is being distributed on the TikTok social network, which talks about the alleged adoption of a new law No. 4995 on the status of a “child of war”. According to this law, from September 1, 2024, children will allegedly receive 15 thousand hryvnias per month for three years. As evidence, the author of the video shows screenshots from the Diia portal about the status of a “child of war”. Service ID - 01199.

However, this information is not true, the Center for Countering Disinformation reports. Law No. 4995, which is discussed in the video, was adopted back in 2017, and it concerns providing housing to the families of fallen ATO soldiers, and not assigning the status of “child of war”.

In addition, using the service identifier 01199 in the Diia portal, you can indeed obtain the status of “child of war”, but this only applies to individuals who are citizens of Ukraine and who were under 18 years old at the end of World War II (September 2, 1945).

With this fake, propagandists are trying to mislead Ukrainian society, so that later, when it comes to parents wanting to formalize the status of “child of war” for their child, they will be disappointed that in fact the corresponding law does not exist and direct their dissatisfaction towards the Ukrainian authorities.

Fake In August 2024, the Ukrainian president allegedly signed a bill “on payment to the military” in the amount of 100 thousand hryvnia

A video is being circulated on social networks, which claims that in August 2024, the President of Ukraine signed a bill providing for the payment of 100 thousand hryvnia to the military.

VoxCheck analysts confirmed that the video is not real. It was created using AI tools where they can superimpose a distinctive voice onto the video.

In 2023, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine did indeed consider bill No. 9342, according to which military personnel performing combat missions near the front line should be paid an additional monthly remuneration of 30-100 thousand UAH. The President of Ukraine signed this bill back in June 2023.

Disclosure A detailed video about “new cash inflows” for Ukrainian pensioners and privileged categories is being distributed online

A clip with a TSN TV presenter is being distributed online. He claims that Europe has announced a new tranche for a pension supplement for Ukraine's Independence Day. Ukrainian pensioners will see their pensions increase, and the average supplement will be from UAH 2,300 to UAH 5,600. And to receive the increase, the TV presenter calls on people to follow a link to a special Telegram channel.

VoxCheck analysts have established that this video is fake. Using a special tool, AI Speech Classifier, it was possible to see that the audio recording itself was created using a neural network. That is, the propagandists used the original video from TSN, but superimposed their own audio track.

The EU also did not announce any tranche of additional payments to pensioners and other privileged categories for Independence Day. No media outlet published similar information.

Fake Monobank began collecting money for Okhmatdyt before the Russian missile attack on the hospital itself

On anonymous telegram channels they write that Monobank has begun collecting funds for Okhmatdyt before the Russian missile attack on a children's hospital. Users of social networks indicate different dates for the start of the collection: some write about July 5, others write about July 7.

VoxCheck analysts write that Monobank began collecting, in fact, for the restoration of Okhmatdyt on July 8, after the missile attack. The notice of collection was also received on this day.

For example, on the official website of the bank and in the personal telegram channel of Monobank co-founder Oleh Horokhovskyi, the date of the Russian missile attack on Okhmatdyt is indicated correctly - July 8, and the fee was announced after the attack.

The collection message was also sent to the Monobank mobile application on the 8th.

Fake PrivatBank allegedly refuses to issue loans to men due to martial law

A screenshot of a message allegedly from the Help Online chat to PrivatBank is being circulated online. In it, the bank, citing martial law, refuses to provide a loan to the user Dmytro Olehovych. Instead, the user is offered to apply for a loan for a female relative.

“The bank does not want to lose money by approving a loan to a person who could mobilize and kill tomorrow,” comment the propagandists.

VoxCheck analysts analyzed this stuffing and determined that such a change in the lending policy is not spelled out in the bank’s Terms and Conditions, and the interface according to the screenshot of the propagandists differs from the real interface of the Help Online chat. Also, the Ukrainian media does not have any mention of such an “innovation”.

Manipulation Ukraine “wasted” $11 million on Antarctic research

The network is spreading information that Ukraine spent $11 million on wine, chocolate and studying penguins in Antarctica. As propagandists add, this money “can be redirected to the Armed Forces of Ukraine”.

Analysts from the VoxCheck project investigated the case and explained that Ukraine is one of several dozen countries that have year-round stations in Antarctica. Scientists also use this influence on the international platform to inform about Russian aggression and counter Russian activities. And the money allocated for research cannot be redirected to the defense sector of Ukraine. The purchase for the station's activities is made at a time for the entire year in Chile for 14 people.

The polar explorers also refuted the thesis about the “tons of delicacies” that are allegedly purchased for them. All products are bought once a year in Chile by 14 people at once. Also regarding alcohol, “per week, one polar explorer receives 300 grams of dry wine (two glasses) and 200 grams of chocolate and sweets”. So, it is not about any “excessive consumption”; this purchase is necessary to provide food for the year.

Fake Ukrainians allegedly receive bills to pay for the telethon

Pro-Russian resources are disseminating information that Ukrainians are supposedly receiving bills to pay for the telethon. As “proof”, propagandists add a photo of a “receipt” from the Rivne Regional Energy Supply Company, which, in addition to electricity charges, allegedly shows charges for the telethon amounting to 40 UAH.

However, this information is not true, write experts on the VoxCheck project. In fact, the United News telethon is financed exclusively from the state budget.

A sample invoice for services from the Rivne Regional Energy Supply Company is presented on the company’s official website. There is no payment for the telethon. Also, the Bereznivskyi district, which is mentioned in the receipt, no longer exists for a long time - as a result of the administrative-territorial reform, four districts were formed in the Rivne region, the former Bereznivskyi district became part of the Rivne one.

Finally, the telethon is broadcast on a dozen national television channels, available on digital airwaves, satellite television and online for free. It is technically impossible to separate “Unified News” into a separate package of services. Citizens of Ukraine either watch it for free or pay providers for a package of channels, which may include channels broadcasting the marathon. Accordingly, when purchasing such a package, the money goes directly to the provider and cannot be combined in one bill with utilities.

Previously, we refuted the information that in Rivne those who evade are disconnected from public services.

Fake EU allegedly stops funding for Rail Baltica due to excessive spending on aid to Ukraine

Russian propagandists are disseminating information about the termination of funding for the Rail Baltica project by the European Union. They sarcastically suggest that the EU ask Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi for money, arguing that the EU is refusing to finance the project and is demanding the return of invested funds due to excessive assistance to Ukraine. However, this is fake.

Rail Baltica is a railway transport infrastructure project aimed at integrating the Baltic countries into the European railway network. Financial assistance and funding for this project are not related to each other. Rail Baltica's funding source is the Connecting Europe Facility, which supports the development of trans-European networks in the fields of transport, energy and digital services.

In reality, the EU does not stop funding. The current funding period will end in 2027, and the next one will begin in 2028. Therefore, the Baltic countries face two challenges: 1 year without EU funding and the unknown amount that will be allocated in the next funding period. The EU recommends that the Baltic countries seek additional sources of funding, but this does not preclude continuing to allocate funds for the project.

The idea of building Rail Baltica was put forward back in 1991. However, Russian propagandists claim that building the infrastructure became necessary after the closure of communications with Russia, which made the Baltic railways unprofitable. Another reason for the parasitism of Russian propaganda is the increase in the estimated cost of the project by four times and the extension of the construction period until 2030. This is precisely the reason for the cessation of EU funding for Rail Baltica.

Russian propagandists are spreading fake news about Rail Baltica for several reasons. Firstly, it helps them support the idea that reduced ties with Russia are harmful to Europe. Secondly, it contributes to the creation of an image of Ukraine as a problem for the EU. They say that by helping her, the Union neglects its own interests. Third, such propaganda creates the impression that the EU's priority goal is to dominate Russia and, accordingly, it demonizes the EU.

Fake Germany will pay pensions to 57.5 - 60 years old refugees from Ukraine

Social media users are sharing a video saying, “We need to protect ourselves from this” and “Should they work until they are 67 when they can retire at 57 without investing anything?” The point is that Ukrainian refugees in Germany can retire earlier as early as June: men aged 60 years and older, and women another two and a half years earlier, and that Germany will pay for their pension. However, this is fake.

Fact-checkers of the German project Correctiv drew attention to it. They found out that this fake has been circulating in Germany since 2022. In fact, Ukrainians cannot retire before the Germans. The retirement age ranges from 63 to 67 years.

The fact-checkers also found out whether any rules on pensions for Ukrainians have changed. Katja Braubach from the German Pension Insurance Service (DRV) objected: “For citizens of Ukraine, no special conditions are provided for in the pension legislation”. The German Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS) also confirmed that “the current legislation applies when receiving a German pension”.

Ukrainians can receive a pension in Germany in the same way as Germans. Persons from abroad must have at least five years of statutory pension insurance contributions to be entitled to pension benefits in Germany. Periods of work abroad only count if it is an EU member state or if the country has a social security agreement with Germany - neither of which applies to Ukraine.

Although EU accession negotiations have been ongoing since December 2023, Ukraine is not a member of the EU. Germany signed a social security agreement in 2018 and ratified it in 2020, but the ratification process in Ukraine has stalled.

For Ukrainians, the “regular retirement age” applies. Excluded from this regulation are a “very small group” of Ukrainian refugees who - like other persons recognized under the Emigrants Act who come from ethnic German families - have acquired working hours recognized as German insurance periods, as stated on the DRV website . However, according to DRV, “normal pension age restrictions” apply here too.

This information can be disseminated by propagandists in order to arouse skepticism and hostility towards Ukrainian refugees among the population. They say that they are taking away the pensions of Europeans, which means that Ukrainians need to stop helping. Detector Media has repeatedly refuted other Russian provocations against Ukrainian refugees in Europe.

Fake Ukrainians allegedly began to donate less

Propaganda spreads information that Ukrainians allegedly began to donate less and help volunteers and the military less. And also that Western foundations and organizations have completely stopped funding, as a result of which financial support for the treatment of the military has decreased. In addition to this, the ability to travel abroad to receive surgical services was allegedly limited. But all this is fake.

Vox Ukraine specialists drew attention to it. Based on the results of a survey conducted by Gradus Research on the second anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion, there is a positive trend toward an increase in the frequency and regularity of citizens making donations. Data from Monobank, one of the leading banking services for collecting charitable contributions, confirms this positive trend. During 2023, support for charities and voluntary organizations has more than tripled compared to the first year of the full-scale invasion.

Data from the reports of the Come Back Alive foundation also refute this fake. Compared to 2022, the amount of donations in 2023 was slightly lower, but it is known that the average amount of donations in the second year of a full-scale invasion increased by more than 10%.

In this case, propagandists are trying to level out the support of Ukrainian citizens and contribute to the destabilization of society by reflecting false opinions. They describe the situation in such a way as to provoke a pessimistic attitude towards assistance to the Ukrainian military and dramatize the economic situation of citizens.

Fake In private correspondence, military wives allegedly talk about how the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine hides large losses and does not pay funds to the families of the victims

Propagandists are distributing supposedly real correspondence between the wives of military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on anonymous telegram channels. These reports claim that the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is allegedly hiding real losses among the military and evading payments to the families of the victims. This information is false.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that this “correspondence” is distributed only by Russian and pro-Russian telegram channels. Message texts are formal in nature.

From the photographs it is clear that messages were sent at regular one-minute intervals, regardless of the length of the text. It is unlikely that a woman who had just learned of the death of her husband could so accurately observe these intervals in her answers.

The messages also incorrectly use the name Artem. First, one of the wives calls her husband by this name, then uses the shortened form “Tema” whereas in Ukrainian it would be “Tioma”, and in Russian it would be “Tiema”. Thus, it can be assumed that the text was incorrectly translated from Russian.

The texts of this correspondence are filled with Russian stereotypes about large losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, lack of payments, incompetence of command and calls for the murder of commanders. In fact, the losses of the Ukrainian side are much less than what is covered in the Russian media. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi mentioned the number of deaths - 31 thousand over two years of a full-scale invasion.

Propagandists spread such fake news to discredit the Ukrainian armed forces.  Detector Media refuted other similar fakes created against the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Manipulation Canada allegedly finances the sending of Ukrainian women as the first to demine particularly dangerous areas

Propagandists spread information on social networks and the media that Ukraine intends to send its women to demining particularly dangerous areas “as one of the first”, and Canada will pay for it. The authors of such posts refer to the official website of the Prime Minister of Canada, which they claim confirms this information. However, this is manipulation.

Analysts of the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that there is no mention on the official website of the Canadian Prime Minister that Ukrainian women will be sent to demining particularly dangerous areas. The website contains information on the provision of additional military assistance to Ukraine, including the project “Gender-Inclusive Demining for a Sustainable Future in Ukraine”, for which Canada allocates funds. The HALO Trust project mentioned in the document, which helps women to acquire appropriate education and skills, does not assume that Ukrainian women will be guaranteed to be among the first to be sent for demining. Instead, the HALO Trust really aims to help Ukrainians in the destruction of explosive ordnance on the territory of the country.

Propagandists spread such manipulations in order to cause panic in the population and demotivate Ukrainians to cooperate with similar projects. In addition, in this way, Russia reinforces the message that the West is supposedly indifferent to Ukrainians and their victims.

Fake Ukrainians who did not travel abroad during a full-scale war will allegedly receive a one-time payment from the state

On behalf of Ukrainian TV channels, videos containing information are being distributed in TikTok, allegedly the government adopted Law No. 3386 regarding a one-time payment of 14 thousand hryvnia to those Ukrainians who have never left the country since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

In fact, these videos are fake. They are generated by artificial intelligence. The Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council writes about this. Law No. 3386 itself simply does not exist. Such content applies, in particular, to increasing the reach of anonymous telegram channels, which are linked in the description under the video.

By spreading this disinformation, Russian propaganda aims to split Ukrainian society. Like, “those Ukrainians who remained in Ukraine during the war are “more Ukrainians” than those who left, therefore the state in this way seeks to show the privilege of the former”. It is on this basis that the fake Russian propaganda is based.

• Read also: More money is spent on one prisoner in Ukraine every month than on pensions for Ukrainians

Fake The budget of the American child tracing organization was allegedly cut to help Ukraine

Russian propagandists spread such information. In some US stores, milk cartons allegedly posted notices about a missing boy named Elijah. This was supposedly done by the public organization National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC),  the captures are as follows: “We would have found Elijah if the government had not cut our budget to send aid to Ukraine”.

In fact, these photo ads are fake. This was reported by checkers from the StopFake project. NCMEC Communications Director Angeline Hartman responded to StopFake's request that the organization did not print such postcards, someone else used their logo without permission.

Response from NCMEC Communications Director to StopFake request:

Probably, a caption about Ukraine was added to the photo of the milk carton in a graphic editor.

In addition, NCMEC is financed by the US Department of Justice, whose task is to ensure law and order and justice within the country, so there can be no talk of any “budget cuts to help Ukraine”. Moreover, funding provided by the Department of Justice to NCMEC has, on the contrary, increased compared to 2021.

If in 2021 the Department of Justice allocated almost $37 million to the organization, then in 2022 this amount was already more than 44 million. In 2023, the organization received more than $51 million. The organization also has other sources of funding. Many resources are provided by private donors, including large corporations like Google and Zoom.

Thus, Russian propaganda seeks to fuel the narrative that “Western society is already tired of the war in Ukraine”. According to propagandists, such fakes can influence the minimization of international support for Ukraine. Previously, we refuted information that economist Robert Kiosaki allegedly called any financial injections into Ukraine pointless.

Manipulation Ukrainians are allegedly buying cars en masse with money raised by Lithuanians

From the very beginning of the charity campaign of the Lithuanian public broadcaster Radarom, propagandists in the Lithuanian segment of social networks began to spread information that the funds donated to Ukrainians did not bring any benefit after all. One of the most widespread reports in Lithuania claims that the purchase and sale of cars, especially premium ones, in Ukraine have increased significantly since the start of the war, which means that the warring country is trading on the support it has received. At the same time, they refer to statistics from Ukravtoprom. However, this is not true.

Lithuanian fact-checkers for the 15min.lt project drew attention to this. They found out that propagandists are silent about the fact that the growth of the automobile market began with the beginning of the war, when it was significantly depressed. It is also not mentioned that as many as a third of new cars were purchased by companies. According to Ukravtoprom, in 2023, almost 61 thousand units of new passenger cars were sold in Ukraine (most of which were purchased by companies) worth more than 105.5 billion hryvnia (about 2.5 billion euros). This is 1.6 times more than in 2022, when Ukrainians purchased 37,900 new cars, the lowest since the beginning of the century. When the war began, many off-road vehicles were purchased. According to these data, 103.25 thousand new cars were sold in 2021, and 37.89 thousand new cars were sold in 2022. Last year this figure rose to 75.99 thousand, and this year it is expected to increase to 86 thousand. Thus, neither last nor this year the same level as before the war is expected.

Ukrainian public figure in Lithuania Andrii Tapin also added that in Ukraine in 2023 there will be one new car for every 606 inhabitants. Last year, 31,000 new passenger cars were registered in Lithuania, or 1 car per 90 inhabitants. The difference is about 7 times.

Propagandists spread such disinformation to discredit Ukrainians and reinforce their “corrupt Ukraine” narrative. All this is so that foreigners stop supporting Ukraine.

Message The transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine will allegedly destroy the global economy

Russian propagandists claim that the confiscation of frozen Russian assets to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine will lead to inevitable economic collapse. This message gained traction in early 2024, as proposals to use these assets for reconstruction efforts in Ukraine became more common.

Specialists from the EUvsDisinfo project drew attention to it. They explain that while there is heated debate about the advisability of avoiding this decision, its critics argue that it could violate the principle of state sovereignty and undermine confidence in Western financial institutions, arguments made by propagandists are a serious exaggeration.

Russia has said that if its assets are confiscated, it will respond by confiscating Western assets on its territory and resorting to other economic actions. However, this will not lead to the consequences of fearful propagandists. The dissemination of this message aims to question the actions of the West and try to stop these processes.

Fake Economist Robert Kiyosaki allegedly called any financial injections into Ukraine senseless

Russian resources are spreading the news that allegedly the American media Bloomberg released a video in which American economist Robert Kiosaki called investments in Ukraine pointless. According to propagandists, Kiyosaki made the corresponding statement at a meeting of the international investment company Traderfriends.

In fact, this information is not true, they write in the VoxCheck project. The video published by the propagandists is not on Bloomberg’s official channels - website, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. Kiyosaki himself also did not call investments in Ukraine pointless on his pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Propagandists edited the video from several videos that are unrelated to each other. In particular, using keywords, VoxCheck specialists were able to find an excerpt from an interview with the YouTube channel “Finance With Sharan”, published on September 6, 2023. In it, Kiyosaki discussed finance, politics and the like. We were also talking about Ukraine. Kiyosaki said that the United States is printing dollars to support Ukraine, and therefore does not recommend saving in this currency. However, the economist did not say a word about the absurdity of financial assistance to Ukraine.

In addition, Kiyosaki could not make a corresponding statement at a meeting of the international investment company Traderfriends, as propagandists write. Traderfriends is actually a company that provides educational trading services. VoxCheck's colleagues were unable to find any evidence that Robert Kiyosaki recently spoke at the company's invitation. The last publication with an economist on the Traderfriends YouTube page dates back to January 14, 2018.

After the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, Kiyosaki supported Ukraine and stated that if he were in Ukraine, he would also fight for freedom. The economist also believes that the impact of the war on the economy will give impetus to the development of cryptocurrency.

Russian propaganda seeks to interfere with the decision-making process of high-ranking officials on the allocation of financial support to Ukraine in many countries of the world, in particular the United States, and therefore resorts to such fakes. Previously, we denied information that French activists were allegedly conducting an anti-Ukrainian campaign, calling on citizens to stop supporting Ukraine.

Message Ukrainians are supposedly panicking en masse and preparing for something sad

Pro-Kremlin Telegram channels are disseminating information that Ukrainians have allegedly begun to massively withdraw deposits from their bank accounts and take everything valuable and important from the boxes. According to Russian propagandists, this is due to the fact that Ukrainians are preparing “for something sad”, and the entire banking sector is now “supported only by foreign credit injections”.

The Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council analyzed this message. Having verified the information with the NBU, the Center found out that at the beginning of 2024 there actually was a seasonal outflow of funds from the accounts of individuals, but growth resumed in February - and therefore there are no threats to the stability of bank funding.

By spreading such messages, Russian propaganda seeks to sow fear, uncertainty and doubt about the future in Ukraine. The ultimate goal of such messages is to force Ukrainians to either protest against the current government or flee abroad in search of a better life. Previously, we refuted the information that Oschadbank was allegedly blocking the cards of those residents who were draft evaders.

Manipulation Zelensky will allegedly stop considering the United States a strategic partner if Washington does not give money

Propagandists broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric on anonymous telegram channels are disseminating information that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has stated that if assistance is refused, he will no longer consider the United States a strategic partner. However, this is manipulation.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that Zelenskyi really didn’t say that. An excerpt from his speech was disfigured.

During the Munich Security Conference, Volodymyr Zelenskyi and US Vice President Kamala Harris held a joint briefing. When asked about “Plan B” if the US Congress does not support the bill on additional funding for Ukraine, the President of Ukraine noted that no alternatives are being considered.

He expressed hope for a positive decision by Congress, pointing out that Ukraine views the United States as a strategic partner, and therefore hopes for its further support. Zelenskyi stressed that an alternative position would mean instability in relations. These words have been twisted and used to create a manipulative “quote” that is being circulated online without proper context.

Kamala Harris also supported Zelenskyi, expressing confidence that the bill will be passed and called for a focus on “Plan A” - providing Ukraine with the necessary resources. She stressed the importance of avoiding politicization of the issue and the need to remain steadfast in supporting allies. The President of Ukraine also expressed his faith in the positive decision of Congress and said that he does not consider the adoption of the bill a treacherous position, because, in his opinion, the strategic partner will not leave Ukraine without support.

Propagandists spread such manipulations to undermine bilateral relations between the United States and Ukraine and stop US support. They say Zelenskyi is provoking America, which means we won’t see the money. Detector Media also refuted other manipulations regarding Ukraine’s relations with the United States.

Fake In Ukraine they are allegedly looking for people who write negative comments about Carlson’s interview with Putin for money

Users of social networks and Kremlin media are spreading false information that vacancies for “provocateurs” have appeared in Ukraine. It is noted that they “need to leave negative comments” during the interview of Russian President Volodymyr Putin with Tucker Carlson. Russian propaganda added fake screenshots of “vacancies” from Ukrainian job search sites to these messages. However, this is fake.

After disseminating such information, StopFake decided to check whether similar vacancies actually appeared on Ukrainian sites. It turned out that this is not true.

Propagandists are distributing three different screenshots of similar “announcements”. The first was allegedly made on the website Robota.ua, the second on Work.ua, and the third on Jooble. The job description states that a future employee will have to review Carlson's interview with Putin and then comment negatively on it. Since the propagandists did not leave links to these vacancies, StopFake tried to find them on its own.

From the first fake ad on Robota.ua, it is clear that the vacancy for a “provocateur” - “media strategist” was posted by the company Telemarketing 24. StopFake specialists found such a company on this site, but did not find a vacancy for a “media strategist”. However, among the positions offered by the company there is an advertisement that is very similar to the spread of propaganda - “system administrator”. This announcement coincides with the time of publication, the proposed salary, place and working conditions, but there is no task to leave comments under Putin’s interview. It seems that it was the description of this vacancy that was edited in the fake advertisement.

The second fake ad – “technical support specialist” on Work.ua – was allegedly published by the company New Media Space. StopFake was also able to find this company, but there is no such position among the vacancies it offered. But there is a vacancy for “sales manager”, in which we offer a place of work, the salary and conditions are similar to those indicated in the fake advertisement. There is also no obligation to leave comments under Putin’s interview.

The third fake ad - a “copywriter” from the Jooble website - was published by Recruiting Group. Such a company, as in the first and second cases, exists and is really looking for a copywriter. However, in the original vacancy there is not a word about working with comments under Volodymyr Putin’s interview with Tucker Carlson. However, the conditions, place of work and part of the description are similar to what propaganda publishes. StopFake also tried to contact Recruiting Group and Telemarketing 24, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

It looks like Russian propagandists took real vacancies published on Ukrainian job search sites. By changing their description, they created another fake that discredits Ukraine. Detector Media wrote about the main messages of Tucker Carlson’s interview with Putin and his true goals.

Fake Economist Kiyosaki allegedly called financial aid to Ukraine nonsense

Users of social networks broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric are distributing a video allegedly produced by the American media company Bloomberg, with statements attributed to economist and author of the best-selling book “Rich Father, Poor Father” Robert Kiyosaki. Like, he called any financial investments in Ukraine “nonsense”. “He believes that helping Ukraine means passing money through a shredder, because Ukraine will disappear in the near future”, propagandists write. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They noticed that the video material distributed online imitates the design of videos from the Bloomberg news agency, including the company logo in the upper right corner of the frame. However, there is no corresponding material either on the official website or on the social networks of the American media company. Even if attackers use a media company’s logo, a mismatch in the video’s design (font and caption design) indicates that it is a fake. It should also be noted that most Bloomberg videos are published without a logo.

If a publication uses someone else's videos or photographs, the source must be indicated in the story. The video circulating online is a compilation of various video clips from old interviews with Robert Kiyosaki, but nowhere in the story is it mentioned where these clips were taken from. For example, a video clip in which Kiyosaki allegedly expresses his opinion about the absurdity of financial assistance to Ukraine appeared on the Internet four months ago. In it, an economist actually talks about investing.

StopFake was unable to find any evidence that Robert Kiosaki publicly opposed financial assistance for Ukraine. The last statements he made about Russian military aggression against Ukraine date back to February and March 2022. One can also find a video clip online where he expressed condolences to Ukrainians suffering from the war.

The purpose of this fake is to undermine partners’ trust in Ukraine and its financial support. They say that even economists do not consider such actions to be correct, therefore, this support must be stopped.

Manipulation They allegedly spend more money on one prisoner in Ukraine every month than on pensions for Ukrainians

Information is being spread on the Internet that supposedly 10 thousand hryvnias are spent monthly on the maintenance of one prisoner of war in Ukraine, and if the amount is less, this is a violation of human rights. At the same time, the state allocates only 2,500 hryvnia monthly for pensions of Ukrainians. However, this is not true.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to this. They found out that the cost of maintaining a prisoner included not only clothing and food, but also utilities, staff and security. No special conditions were created for Russians, since the same amount is spent on maintaining prisoners in Ukraine. In March 2023, Deputy Minister of Justice Olena Vysotska stated that about 10 thousand hryvnia per month are spent on one prisoner of war in Ukraine. However, this amount includes not only clothing and food for the prisoner, but also payment for utilities, arrangement of the place of detention, work of staff and security, and so on. The Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War does not specify a specific amount that the state must allocate for their maintenance. Each country determines this amount itself. Prisoners are also involved in work in the camp, and their labor partially offsets the costs.

As for pensions, in 2024 more than 271 billion hryvnia will be allocated from the state budget to pay pensions. The average pension in Ukraine exceeds 5,300 hryvnia. It is incorrect to compare expenses on prisoners and pensions, since these are different categories of expenses related to the protection of human rights and social support of the population.

With their statements, users are trying to sow hostile sentiments in society and emphasize that Ukraine allegedly does not care about its residents. Detector Media recently denied other manipulations related to Ukrainian captives.