On November 11, Facebook user Nona Sharabidze shared a claim alleging that Larry Fink, the head of the American corporation BlackRock, called for the cremation of Ukrainian soldiers. The accompanying photo features Larry Fink alongside the following quote:
“The owner of Ukraine addressed Ukrainians with a complaint: “There are too many cemeteries! Use crematoriums. This is not your land.” – BlackRock Executive Director Larry Fink.
The quote circulating on social networks, alleging that the head of BlackRock called for the cremation of deceased soldiers on Ukrainian soil is disinformation and cannot be found on open, reliable sources.
DELFI, a fact-checking organization, verified a quote attributed to Larry Fink. The organization reports that no reputable international media sources contain a quote from the BlackRock Director with identical or similar content. Additionally, the quote is absent from the company’s official website. Notably, disinformation of this nature has been circulating on social media since 2023 and traces back to the satirical Telegram channel Империя очень зла.
“Myth Detector” has previously fact-checked disinformation targeting Larry Fink. Claims falsely suggested that the head of BlackRock purchased Ukrainian land and prohibited the burial of military personnel. The widely circulated quote is yet another effort to fuel conspiracy theories about BlackRock and tarnish its CEO’s reputation.
The screenshot shared by Nona Sharabidze originates from an anonymous Russian-language TikTok account, where the quote was posted on July 17. This account is known for disseminating pro-Russian and anti-Western narratives.
About the source:
The Facebook account Nona Sharabidze frequently shares anti-Western disinformation and Kremlin-aligned narratives. The false information disseminated by this account has been featured in numerous “Myth Detector” articles.
Nino Pheradze
Myth Detector Lab
The article has been written in the framework of Facebook’s fact-checking program. You can read more about the restrictions that Facebook may impose based on this article via this link. You can find information about appealing or editing our assessment via this link.
Read detailed instructions for editing the article.
Read detailed appeal instructions.