Pro-Kremlin Telegram channels are circulating a photo of empty storefronts allegedly from a supermarket in Great Britain, which had energy-saving light bulbs on them. It looks like the British bought up all the energy-saving light bulbs and think "that they will save utility bills for years to come." It is not true.

The original pictures were taken in the USA and posted on the popular online resource Alamy, where any user can purchase them. The photo caption says the empty shelves and rationing sign for this item were taken at a Target retail store in Contra Costa, San Ramon, California on March 12, 2020. Photos of the shelves on which there were hand sanitizers and other essential items were already published by the American media Newsweek on March 15. These goods were actively bought in the first days of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the original photos, there is the following inscription on the banner: "The number of disinfectants is limited to six in one hand."

Fact Checks from Stop Fake revealed that the inscription was subsequently edited in a photo editor: the inscription on the banner was changed, packages with light bulbs were added, and price tags were changed. But the angle from which the shots were taken, the location of the shelves, even the size of the banner, and the creases on its margins are completely identical to the photos taken in the USA two years ago.