Fake: Ads in New York promote bets on Zelenskyy’s “escape” from Ukraine
Russian propaganda media, Telegram channels, and bots on the social network X are spreading a video allegedly filmed in New York’s central square, Times Square. In the clip, one of the billboards displays an “advertisement” for the Polymarket platform, supposedly offering users a chance to bet on which country President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would allegedly flee to after Ukraine’s “capitulation”. This video is fake.
Ukrinform reports this.
There is no such bet on Polymarket’s official website as the one attributed to the platform by Russian propagandists. Polymarket does accept other types of wagers, including on possible peace agreements or a ceasefire, but the scenario shown in the video does not exist on the platform.
In addition, the fake video features the logo of the American media outlet USA Today, but there is no such video on the publication’s official website or social media accounts. The propaganda material also claims that the clip is being broadcast on a billboard located on a building belonging to the Regal cinema chain. In reality, this screen shows only trailers for new films and posters for movies currently playing at the theater.
The original source of the fake was Ukrainian collaborator Oleh Tsaryov, who is hiding in Russia. In many versions of the fabricated video, a watermark with his name is even visible.
Thus, the propagandists edited the clip using video-editing software and replaced the real advertisement on the billboard, creating yet another piece of disinformation.