Russian propagandists fabricated a video of an invented incident, falsely attributed to USA Today
Russian Telegram channels are circulating a video featuring the logo of the U.S. media outlet USA Today. The video claims that U.S. police allegedly detained a Ukrainian national attempting to set fire to a McDonald’s office in Chicago. The supposed motive is the company’s rumored return to the Russian market.
This is a fake. USA Today has not published this video, neither on its official website nor on its social media platforms.
The video was crudely assembled from various publicly available images, primarily photos of McDonald’s locations in the United States and Russia.
The rumor about McDonald’s returning to Russia originated in Russian state propaganda media. However, this claim is false, as McDonald’s has officially denied it via its social media channels.
Following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, McDonald’s suspended its operations in the aggressor country. On May 16, 2022, the company announced its full exit from the Russian market and the sale of its business there.
Such disinformation campaigns are aimed at discrediting Ukrainian refugees abroad. Through these fabricated stories, Russian propagandists seek to portray Ukrainians as violent and unstable, fostering negative sentiment toward them in Western societies.
Previously, Russia spread a fake story claiming that Ukraine is hiring actresses to appear in TV segments about Russian aggression.
Andriy Olenin
