Russian propaganda creates fake about desecration of Ukrainian flag in Marseille

Russian state media outlets and z-Telegram channels have spread information that during a recent rally in support of Ukraine in Marseille, local residents allegedly tore up and trampled on a 20-meter-long Ukrainian flag. The propagandists used a real photo of Ukrainian women with the Ukrainian national flag, taken on the stairs to Marseille Saint-Charles station, but added their text to it.

This is a fake. A photo of the rally, which took place on February 22, was posted on Facebook by the Marseille-Odesa Association. Its head, Natalia Dobrianska, left the following comment under the post in French and Ukrainian: "Marseille, of course, does not have the Potemkin Stairs consisting of 192 steps, but it does have the stairs to Saint Charles station. They are also incredibly beautiful and Marseille is proud of them. We, Odesa residents, also love these stairs because they remind us of our Odesa city," the Ukrainian wrote.

Later, the Odesa City Council and Ukrainian media outlets shared the post with this photo on their official pages.

There was no information about any incidents during the rally in any media, except for Russian propaganda resources.

The Marseille-Odesa Association confirmed to Ukrinform that this was a fake.

"This is a common lie. People came up and took photos with us near the flag. There was not a single bad word," the association said.

Ukrainians in Marseille also provided Ukrinform with other photos from this rally.

This is not the first time that Russian propagandists have attempted to spread fakes about France's lack of support for Ukraine. For example, they have resorted to photo forgery of "social advertising" in France with a map without Crimea.

Andriy Olenin