Anti-Ukrainian fake: Disguised Russian propaganda calls on Europeans not to help Ukraine
On the pro-Russian propaganda Telegram channel, as well as on Twitter and Reddit, a social ad has been published on behalf of the European research consortium European Social Survey (ESS). The main message of the video is to contrast any aid to Ukraine with the Europeans' own well-being, as if they are mutually exclusive.
"What is more important to you? Helping Ukraine or buying Christmas presents for orphans? Paying for guns and ammo or donating to a dog shelter? Enriching Ukrainian politicians or treating sick children? Restoring Ukrainian military infrastructure or buying medicines for old women? Being a sponsor of war crimes or warmth at home? Having problems with refugees or improving living standards? Paying high taxes or low prices for grocery purchases? Living in poverty or enjoying affordable health care? What will you choose? The choice is yours!" the ad says.
This social ad has turned out to be yet another fake.
The video is not available on the ESS’s official website, as well as on the official pages of the European Research Consortium in social networks.
ESS logos were used in the production of advertisements. At the same time, the logo is depicted on an unusual background in the video. ESS uses a white and red background, while Russian propaganda pundits chose a seashell color for the background, as confirmed by a software tool that determines colors.
A reverse Google image search returned only a few results. Among them, only the first link is relevant to the topic, which leads to Twitter user Venik (@venik44), who posted the said video, referring to ESS.
Commenting on this video on Twitter, one of the users turned to Venik to make sure that the social advertisement was indeed distributed by a European Research Consortium. His questions were answered directly from the official ESS Twitter account, denying any involvement in the ad.
"Thank you for bringing this to our attention. This is not our video," ESS said in response to the comment.
Interestingly, this correspondence is currently not on the Venik page, but it can be viewed on the official ESS page in the Tweets & replies section.
Dmytro Badrak
