A new wave of fakes about Ukrainian refugees in Europe
The Center has recorded a new wave of fake reports, stylized as stories from reputable Western media, aimed at discrediting Ukrainian refugees in European countries.
In particular, the following disinformation narratives are being circulated:
▪️ “Ukrainian activists detained in Europe near U.S. embassies for aggressive protests.” The video is presented as a report by AFP. It claims that Ukrainian activists are outraged that funds are being directed to operations in Iran instead of assistance to Ukraine. However, no such material exists on the official platforms of the news agency.
▪️ “In Switzerland, a Ukrainian activist set a bus on fire and died in the blaze.” This is a fake report attributed to DW. It alleges that a Ukrainian activist set fire to a bus during a protest, accidentally caught fire himself, and caused the deaths of six people. While a bus fire in Switzerland that resulted in six fatalities did occur, the video itself is fabricated. There is no evidence linking Ukrainians to the incident.
The use of fabricated videos bearing the logos of international media outlets is a typical method of the russian disinformation network “Matryoshka.”
The goal of this campaign is to create among European audiences the image of Ukrainians as a “problematic” or dangerous community. In this way, russian propaganda seeks to undermine trust in Ukrainian refugees and reduce the level of support for Ukraine within European societies.
