On October 28, 2023, Georgian-language Facebook accounts reported (1, 2) that after the ban on Orthodoxy in Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians came to the streets to defend their beliefs and organized a march to the Pochaiv Lavra. The posts are accompanied by a video showing people marching with icons and crosses.
The claim that the march shown in the video is a protest against the ban on Orthodoxy is disinformation and contains elements of video manipulation. The Ukrainian parliament has not banned Orthodoxy, and the footage shows the annual march in Ukraine, during which Orthodox Christians from the Khmelnytskyi Oblast to the Pochaiv Lavra with crosses and icons.
The footage disseminated on Facebook was recorded in August 2023. The video shows the march of Ukrainian Orthodox parishioners from Kamianets-Podilsk, located in the Khmelnytskyi region, to the Pochaiv Lavra of the Holy Assumption on August 19-26. This religious ceremony has been held annually in August for about 200 years in Ukraine. The religious procession ended on August 26 with the arrival at the Pochaiv Lavra, in which about 10,000 pilgrims took part. Footage of this event was also distributed on social networks (1, 2, 3.).
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| The shot from the video disseminated on Facebook | The shot from the video from August 2023 |
No information about the mass protests held against the bill approved by the Rada of Ukraine on October 19 in the first reading has been disseminated in the media and official agencies until now.
The draft law, which was approved by the Ukrainian Rada in the first reading, makes it possible to ban religious organizations whose management center is located in the aggressor country. The law will most likely affect the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, which is not the only Orthodox Church in Ukraine. The Rada also notes that the full form of the draft law has not been established and until its final approval, the constitutional rights of citizens’ freedom of religion will be taken into account.
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About the Source:
The Facebook account “Nacnobi Upnobi” aka “Fantina” together with her other accounts (1, 2, 3) often spreads disinformation and conspiracies, which “Myth Detector” has debunked many times in the past (1, 2, 3).
Facebook account “Nikoloz (Nika) Koberidze” often spreads conspiracy theories and disinformation. “Myth Detector” has debunked the false information spread by the user many times in the past.
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