The American channel Fox News did not publish graffiti with Volodymyr Zelensky kneeling. Moreover, the distributed image was most likely generated by artificial intelligence. This fake is part of the Russian propaganda narrative to discredit Ukraine in connection with the 2024 US presidential elections.
Social networks and Russian websites are widely spreading information that graffiti with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on his knees has allegedly appeared on one of the buildings in New York.
«The image is accompanied by the inscription: «Please vote for Harris. I need more money!» It was posted by the American channel Fox News,» reports the Russian website AiF. The Fox News logo is indeed visible in the upper right corner of the distributed image.
Yet the «graffiti with Zelensky kneeling» is a fake. This image was not published on the official Fox News website or on social networks. The channel’s representative also denied that the photo of the graffiti was distributed by Fox News. Moreover, several image verification tools indicate that it was most likely generated by artificial intelligence.
According to the American website NewsGuard, Fox News’ media relations manager Connor Smith said that «these images were not taken by Fox News». Moreover, this graffiti was not published on the website or on the official Fox News social media channels.
The StopFake editorial team analyzed the distributed graffiti using the Forensically image verification tool. The result of the analysis of errors in the image indeed indicates that it is not homogeneous and has most likely been altered.
In addition, NewsGuard also examined the image using the TrueMedia tool, which found «substantial evidence» that the photo was created using artificial intelligence. «The campaign is consistent with tactics previously used by Matryoshka, a Russian disinformation campaign that publishes fabricated content, including images of graffiti and billboards, to promote anti-Ukrainian ideas,» NewsGuard concludes.
Thus, Russian media and social media users are once again spreading disinformation to discredit Ukraine, indicating that a country at war supposedly begs for the support of Western partners, since it receives financial benefits, and the war is supposedly just an excuse for additional funding for the country. StopFake continues to refute similar fakes in the articles Fake: Elon Musk Publishes Mocking Post With «Last Dollar for Zelenskyy», «Fake: Anti-Ukrainian Graffiti Appeared in Berlin — German Media», Fake: Ivanka Trump Considers Ukrainians «Disgusting and Vile people».
