On July 26-27, 2023, Georgian (1, 2,) and Russian-speaking Facebook users (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) shared a video, which, according to the description, is a commercial filmed by Germans. Russian-speaking users additionally point out that the video is a social advertisement made by the German party Alternative for Germany (AfD). In the video, people dressed in German armed forces uniforms enter a German family and rob them of everything in order to send aid to Ukraine. At the end of the video, one of the soldiers gives a Nazi salute and says – “Heil Zelenskyy”. The footage also shows the following inscription: “Ist dein Haus in der Nato? Akzeptiere die Nato in deinem Haus.” (Is your home in NATO? Accept NATO in your home). At the end of the video, it is also mentioned that since the beginning of the war, 22 billion EUR have been spent from the money belonging to German families to help Ukraine.
The video was also distributed on the websites of RIA Novosti and other Russian media outlets (1, 2, 3). It should be noted that selected Russian media outlets, as well as the Telegram channel of Russia Today, do not write that the video was made by Germans and note that the video about Germans is circulating on the Internet.
The disseminated video is not a German-made social advertisement. The German party Alternative for Germany (AfD) also denied any connection to the video. As a result of verification, it was established that Russian actors are participating in the mentioned video clip.
The video was circulated on Russian social media and websites with the headline that it was filmed by the German party “Alternative for Germany”. It should be noted that the name of the party is not mentioned in the video, and their logo does not appear in the footage. The information was verified by the German media (1, 2) and as the press service of the “Alternative for Germany” party stated, they have no connection with the video and learned about it only through these media outlets.
The circulated video was verified by the Russian-language publications “Meduza” and “Agentstvo” [Agency], as well as by the Russian service of “Radio Liberty“. As a result of verification, it was established that Russian actors participated in the video. The photos and names of these actors have been published on the Twitter account of “Radio Liberty” journalist Mark Krutov. The role of the husband is played by Valentin Vorobyov, the role of the wife is played by Yulia Konyukhova from Moscow, the role of the leader of the soldiers is played by Yulia Mandriko, and one of the soldiers is played by Igor Alekseev.
The identities of the persons participating in the video clip were verified by the “Myth Detector,” and it was confirmed through a facial recognition tool that they are indeed Russian actors. In addition, it is worth noting that the video was shared on Russian blogs and websites and not in the German media, which further confirms the fact that the video was created by Russians. According to the information of Deutsche Welle and the Russian journalist Ilya Ber, one of the actresses participating in the video clip, Yulia Konyukhova, wrote on Instagram that the video was filmed by Russia Today, although Konyukhova later deleted the post.
About the Sources
Facebook user “Irakli Antidze” has disseminated anti-Western, anti-Ukrainian, and anti-vax disinformation in the past as well, which was debunked by Myth Detector a number of times (1, 2.)
Facebook profile “Nutsa Javelidze” has disseminated disinformation in the past as well. გაუვრცელებია.
Facebook account “Vladimir Shemchuk” often publishes anti-Western and anti-Ukrainian content. The posts published by the user have been marked as false information by Myth Detector many times (1, 2).
Russian-language Facebook account “Alla Hancis” has also amplified disinformation related to Ukraine in the past.
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.
