The photograph circulated by Russian media and pro-Kremlin social media users as proof of anti-Ukrainian advertising in Poland, is an example of basic photoshop manipulation. There are scores of identical photos on the web which containe different advertisements on the billboards. Using the Mediamodifier website, your image can be inserted on this billboard with the same background, completely free of charge.
Kremlin media and social media users are spreading claims that anti-Ukrainian billboards have appeared in Poland. As evidence, a photograph of a billboard is attached, which depicts the legs of a man in military garb with a prosthesis against the background of the Ukrainian and Russian flags and the inscription “This is not our war.”
“They want to develop this campaign throughout Poland by placing billboards. This is how the authorities want to influence the thinking of local residents who support Ukraine in the Special Military Operation,” writes Pravda.ru, and points out that the prosthetic leg on the billboard is featured over the Ukrainian flag.
StopFake factcheckers decided to check the authenticity of the photo featured on Pravda.ru. The image was was edited in a photo editor. A TinEye reverse photo search showed that there are many photos of this billboard on the Internet, taken from an identical angle, but with different advertisements on the billboard.
After a little online searching, we found the site Mediamodifier, which allows you to insert any image on this billboard for free. The fact that this particular photo was used to create a fake about alleged “anti-Ukrainian advertising” in Poland is evidenced by the identical placement of cars and clouds in the doctored fake Russian photo, as in the distributed stock photo.
Previously StopFake debunked another Russian fake concerning Poland, that Ukrainians are demanding that Ukrainian become the second official language in Poland.
