On August 13-14, Facebook user Nona Sharabidze, who systematically spreads disinformation, along with other Georgian– and Russian-language Facebook accounts, shared a photo of U.S. President Donald Trump holding a map of Ukraine. On the map, Ukraine’s territory is divided into two parts – in the colors of the Russian and Ukrainian flags. According to the descriptions in the posts, Trump was showing how Ukraine would be divided.
The photo of Trump is edited. The original photo was taken on May 28, 2020, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, during a presidential press conference, and in it Trump is not holding a map of Ukraine but a copy of the New York Post. Ukraine was not discussed at that press conference at all.
The photo of President Trump, in which he allegedly holds a map showing the division of Ukraine into two parts, is fabricated. The original photo was taken in the White House Oval Office on May 28, 2020, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, during a presidential press conference. The photographer was Jonathan Ernst of Reuters, and it was first published on May 29, 2020, on the Reuters website. In the original photo, Trump is holding not a map of Ukraine but the New York Post newspaper.
President Trump’s May 28 press conference concerned a law that shields social media companies from liability for users’ posts. He said the law should be reconsidered when platforms engage in controlling information or fact-checking. Ukraine was not discussed at that press conference at all.
On August 15, a meeting is scheduled in Alaska between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. On August 11, Trump stated that during the meeting with Putin he would discuss a “land-swapping” between Russia and Ukraine, although he did not specify any particular territory. In addition, he noted that after the August 15 meeting, he wants Putin and Zelenskyy to meet, and if necessary, he himself would also attend that meeting.
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