Russian media, broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric, are disseminating information that Ukrainian refugees are allegedly engaged in giving birth to children for sale in special bunkers in Switzerland. “Children are bought as goods by foreigners, and a Swiss company earns billions from this”, Russian propaganda writes and refers to the American podcast Redacted. It's fake.

The case was noticed by the checkers of the StopFake project. The American podcast Redacted, which Russian propagandists refer to, was created by the spouses Clayton and Natalie Morris, who are engaged in spreading conspiracy theories, myths about vaccination and Kremlin narratives regarding Ukraine. Applications about the birth of children in special bunkers are accompanied by a video where one can see bomb shelters with children, cots and medical personnel.

The fact-checker, using an image search, established that the footage used by the propaganda was filmed by the Ukrainian company BioTexCom, which deals with surrogacy. During the full-scale invasion, the company equipped a bomb shelter. However, there was no talk of “Swiss bunkers”. Moreover, surrogacy is prohibited in Switzerland.

In this way, Russian propagandists are trying to discredit Switzerland, show that the event is profiting from Ukrainian refugees, and deal a reputational blow to the companies supporting them. Previously, Detector Media refuted the fake news that Ukrainian refugees in Germany are being urged to learn the vocabulary of cleaners in order to find work.