Fake: Zelenskyy allegedly bought an American comedian’s mansion for $29 million
Russian propaganda has launched yet another fake story about the luxurious lifestyle of Ukraine’s president. This time, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is falsely accused of purchasing an upscale property in New York that allegedly belonged to the controversial comedian Bill Cosby. Experts from Myth Detector examined how this fake was created using clone websites designed to imitate legitimate media outlets.
In early December 2025, a number of Russian and Georgian propaganda outlets (including Tsargrad, RG.RU, and MK.RU) circulated a story claiming that Volodymyr Zelenskyy had purchased a $29 million mansion through an offshore company called Film Heritage Inc. As “evidence”, the reports cited the well-known American publications New York Post and Page Six.
Anatomy of the fake: a clone website
The main tool behind this manipulation was a cloned version of Page Six. Propagandists created a website that visually replicated the popular American celebrity news outlet.
- Fake address: pagesix.now (created only a few days before the disinformation campaign, on 27 November 2025).
- Real address: pagesix.com (in operation since 1996).
Neither the genuine Page Six website nor its YouTube channel contains any mention of Zelenskyy or the alleged purchase of Bill Cosby’s mansion. The story appeared only on the newly created dummy domain, which was then used as the “original source” cited by Russian propaganda media outlets.
Who actually bought the house?
Bill Cosby’s mansion was indeed put up for sale in September 2025 due to the owner’s financial difficulties. However, publicly available property records refute any connection between the transaction and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy:
- According to the real estate service Homes.com, the property has been owned by Seven Manor Holding LLC since November 2025.
- There is no mention whatsoever of Film Heritage Inc. – the company propagandists link to Zelenskyy – in any ownership documents.
Who is behind the disinformation campaign?
An investigation by BBC Verify indicates that the campaign was orchestrated by the Russian influence operation known as Storm-1516. This group specialises in fabricating stories about alleged “corruption” and the supposed extravagant wealth of Ukrainian leaders in an effort to undermine Western support for Ukraine.
The claim that Volodymyr Zelenskyy purchased a $29 million property in the United States is disinformation. The original source of the story was a cloned Page Six website created only days before the article appeared.
This is not the first attempt to attribute expensive real estate purchases to Zelenskyy. Previously, Detector Media debunked another fake story claiming that he had purchased a ranch in Wyoming.