Neither the BBC nor Bellingcat published such a video or such a study about supposedly Ukrainian fakes.
In November, Ukraine began to produce «significantly fewer fakes» than before — such «news» was published by a number of pro-Russian sources with reference to the BBC. They are claiming that Western partners allegedly stopped allocating money to Ukraine for waging information warfare, and therefore the number of fakes in the Ukrainian information space has decreased. The results of the study were allegedly shared by experts from Bellingcat.
However, this information is a complete fabrication. This video is not available on the website or social networks of the British public broadcaster BBC — it was edited from stock footage by the propagandists themselves. Similarly, neither Bellingcat — researchers engaged in OSINT, nor the founder of this project Elliot Higgins have published data on such a study. The original source of the fake was the Telegram channel «Ukropsky Fresh», which has repeatedly appeared in our materials before. For example, we recently refuted their fake news that a Ukrainian pilot hijacked a plane and «ran away to Africa to his lover».
The tactic that Russia used to create this fake is called «mirror accusations» or «mirror propaganda». Its essence is to accuse Ukraine of the same things that the Russian side is being accused of. Both Ukrainian — including StopFake, and Western experts have long come to the conclusion that in Russia the production and distribution of fakes takes place on an industrial scale. To do this, propagandists use so-called «troll factories» — Radio Svoboda even managed to talk to one of the former employees of such an institution. The strategy of «mirror propaganda» is used to change the direction of the discussion and divert attention from the subject of conversation.
We have previously refuted fake news that propagandists spread in the format of videos supposedly from the BBC. More refutations — in the stories Fake: BBC Becomes 2024 Leader in Publishing Fake News – Bellingcat and Fake: Zelensky’s Personal Doctor Fled to France — BBC/Bellingcat.
