Euronews did not publish a video on its social media that Ukrainian refugees allegedly beat a Slovenian man due to a mistake with the flag. The screenshot of the video circulating online was most likely fabricated. Its authors deliberately used the logo of a well-known European media and its design for propaganda purposes. Moreover, StopFake journalists could not find a single fact to confirm this story.
Some social media users are massively spreading the information that Ukrainian refugees in Germany allegedly beat up a Slovenian man because he was holding the flag of his home country. Ukrainians allegedly confused it with the Russian flag, because it also consists of proportional stripes of white, blue and red colors.
The same story can be found in another variation, which is also spreading online. A German of Slovenian origin hung the flag of Slovenia near his house. A video with the flag got into the network, after which the Ukrainians, deciding that it was a Russian flag, allegedly beat the man, who then ended up in the hospital. This story is shared along with a screenshot of the video, which says that “the attackers confused the flag of Slovenia and Russia.” In the upper right corner of the image is the logo of the famous European news channel Euronews.
In reality, this is another fake of Russian propaganda. StopFake journalists could not find a single fact that would confirm this story. Moreover, there is absolutely no mention of such a conflict in open sources and German media.
StopFake noted that such a story was spread only by propaganda resources and Russian Telegram channels. As it turned out, several pro-Russian Telegram channels, such as Zanoza, Sheikh Tamyr and Yakov Kedmy, were the first to publish this story on the evening of August 26. All their publications are accompanied by a screenshot of the video, the design and style of which is very similar to the videos that Euronews publishes on its social networks. However, StopFake journalists were unable to find any similar video either on the Euronews website or on their official Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages. This screenshot was most likely fabricated. Its authors deliberately used the logo of a well-known European media and its design for propaganda purposes.
In the English-speaking social media segment, this story began to spread massively after the well-known pro-Kremlin propagandist Simeon Boykov, better known by his online nickname Aussie Cossack, published it on his Telegram on August 27. In his publication, Aussie Cossack also did not indicate the source of this information, but used a photo of a man with a Slovenian flag from the popular online stock photo provider DreamsTime.com for illustration. Earlier, Australian media reported that Boyko was hiding in the Russian consulate after a Sydney court issued a warrant for his arrest in December 2022. The man is accused of attacking a pro-Ukrainian protester.
Kremlin propaganda regularly spreads disinformation to discredit Ukrainians fleeing war abroad. Previously, StopFake has already refuted similar reports in the stories Fake: Trying to Burn Russian Flag, Ukrainian Refugees Burn Down German House, Fake: Ukrainian Refugees Brawl on Italian Highway and Fake: Ukrainian Refugees Rob an Еlderly Woman in Poland.
