Russian propagandists are circulating a video on social media bearing the Euronews logo. It claims that, supposedly according to data from the social media analytics platform Social Blade, at least 74% of internet users in Ukraine watched a film about the 25-year rule of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
This is fake. Euronews did not publish this video on its website or social media.
Social Blade is a website that tracks statistics and analytics for social media platforms. The propaganda film about Putin was broadcast on Russian state TV channels and websites, as well as on the platforms RuTube and VKontakte, which Social Blade does not track.
Russian media and most pro-government bloggers from the Russian Federation are blocked on YouTube. On this platform, the film about Putin is mainly posted by bots, and videos gather only a few thousand views.
The highest number of views—over 390,000—was recorded on the YouTube channel of pro-war blogger Nikolay Tsonku.
It is worth noting that the main “symbol” of Russian propaganda in the Putin film became kefir, which the Russian leader was seen drinking during the recording of the so-called documentary. Russian websites and social media have started pushing messages that this product has supposedly become popular not only in Russia, but “worldwide.”
Bots on social media have also shared a video bearing the logo of Info World, a publication specializing in information technology. This video claims that users in the U.S. are “actively Googling” where to buy this kefir.
This is fake. The video was not published on the Info World website or social media channels. Moreover, it contradicts the publication’s focus on IT research and development.
Russian propagandists regularly spread fake stories claiming that Ukrainians are watching “direct lines” or other press conferences featuring the Russian dictator.
In this way, they aim to promote the narrative that Ukrainians supposedly trust Putin more than their own government and do not support it. However, this is not true. Furthermore, the Kremlin uses such videos to try to justify its aggression against Ukraine.
Earlier, Russian propaganda spread a fake story about cultural valuables being taken from Kharkiv to Poland “amid an offensive” by Russian forces.
Andriy Olenin
Source: Russian fake: 74% of Ukrainians watched film about Putin's 25-year rule
