Old fake about the war in Ukraine revived in Poland
A new wave of an old disinformation narrative claiming the war in Ukraine is allegedly “staged” is being recorded in the Polish segment of social media.
▫️Several Polish-language Facebook accounts have circulated a fragment of a report showing BBC journalist Jeremy Bowen lying on the ground during shelling, after which a local woman with a dog approaches him and asks whether he is all right. This episode is presented as “evidence” that the shelling was allegedly staged. The authors of the posts claim that the hostilities in Ukraine are orchestrated and that Western media supposedly deliberately mislead audiences.
▫️In reality, this is a fragment taken out of context from a report filmed in March 2022 in the city of Irpin, which at that time was under intense russian shelling. In the original footage, explosions and gunfire are clearly audible, and people in the frame are taking cover. These key elements were deliberately cut out in the versions circulated on social media.
▫️The authenticity of the footage and the presence of the BBC journalist on the front line have been confirmed by the broadcaster itself. Jeremy Bowen publicly described the circulating claims as fake back in 2022.
The purpose of such information injections is to undermine trust in Western media and reduce public support for Ukrainians in Poland by casting doubt on the reality of russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
