Fake videos, photos and paid rap from Niger: How Russian propaganda creates Putin's sympathizers in Ukraine and around the world

On the occasion of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's birthday, local propaganda outlets presented their leader with a gift. Russia’s “information operations troops” did it in the usual way - by spreading fakes and disinformation.

The Russian propaganda's main narrative was the slogan “Putin is the president of the world.” In this context, Russian propaganda spread fakes and staged videos allegedly supporting Vladimir Putin's policies both in Ukraine and around the world.

The pseudo-support in Ukraine was illustrated by numerous Russian media outlets, Telegram channels, and bots on social media platform X. They spread photos and videos purportedly from Kyiv, where “Ukrainian pro-Russian partisans” and “Putin supporters” allegedly posted nearly one thousand leaflets featuring an image of Putin on the occasion of the Russian leader's birthday.

This is a fake. After analyzing the photos and videos published by the propagandists, we found out that the depicted locations are in Kyiv only in two cases, and the images of Putin on them are falsified.

The first is the facade of the Treasury of the National Museum of History of Ukraine, situated on the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve. However, the "posters with Putin" were subsequently added to the image using a graphic editor. The original photo was published on November 1, 2023, on one of the Ukrainian information resources. Both images were captured from the same angles and at the same time of year.

Using a graphic editor, the Russians also replaced the banner with the exhibition with the one that is currently on display for “plausibility.” They could have found the photos for the fake on the museum's official website or the museum's account on social media.

Another photo that could theoretically identify Kyiv is an information board advertising military recruitment from the Obolon territorial recruitment and social support center and the Offensive Guard. However, the fake makers “glued” the leaflet with the Kremlin dictator to the board using a graphic editor. It has a different color, and the curved corner does not cast shadows.

It is important to note that the recruitment brochures for the Ukrainian Defense Forces depicted in the forgery are outdated. Both were created in early 2023 and were relevant at the time when Ukraine was preparing for a counteroffensive. In October 2024, the media component of the Offensive Guard recruitment campaign is focused on military personnel who have demonstrated their capabilities in these units during the course of the war.

Other images and videos distributed by propagandists were captured in courtyards adjacent to Soviet-era residential buildings. It is therefore not possible to confirm with certainty that this image was taken in Kyiv, as similar locations can be found in many cities across the former Soviet Union.

The video of the territorial recruitment center’s minibus allegedly plastered with Putin's portraits is staged. Firstly, there is no confirmation that the vehicle, which is not visible under the posters, is indeed a military vehicle.

The video of the territorial recruitment center’s minibus allegedly plastered with Putin's portraits is staged. First, there is no confirmation that the vehicle, which is not visible under the posters at all, really belongs to the military.

Secondly, the male voiceover saying that the video is a “territorial recruitment center’s van” is likely a fake. The audio track is free of the typical background noise associated with video recordings made in public settings. This indicates that the audio was either recorded in a studio and incorporated into the video or generated using artificial intelligence tools.

Thirdly, the "Idea of the Nation" sign, which can be seen on the gate behind the minibus that seems to be covered with Putin posters, was created using a marker. Typically, such graffiti is painted with a spray can. That is, it was applied with the intention of being photographed and then removed.

In addition, similar posters with Putin are produced in Belarus and available for purchase on the country's largest online marketplace in Russia.

Another fake news item that was distributed to the Ukrainian audience on the occasion of the Kremlin dictator's birthday is the alleged hacking of the Myrotvorets website, which, according to the fake newsmakers, has a page praising Putin.

This is a fake. There was no hacking, the Russians created the image using a graphic editor. The Myrotvorets website presents information about the Russian dictator exclusively in a negative context. Furthermore, the site's administration did not issue any reports indicating that the site had been hacked.

The propagandists did not stop there; they expanded the geography of their fakes. Through social media, they circulated a video of what they claimed was a birthday celebration for Putin, filmed at the Omnia Night Club in Las Vegas. They also circulated a propaganda song, "Someone Like Putin."

This is a fake. The video was posted by an Instagram account with the username natalyiust78. This is a private page with no description or other information to identify the owner, whose stories can only be seen by followers. This is what bot pages often look like.

The official Instagram account of Omnia Night Club has a different nickname that can be used to tag it in stories than the one in the video posted by the natalyiust78 account.

According to the club's website, on October 7, 2024, the date the video was allegedly filmed, the club did not have any scheduled events.

Another "Birthday wishes" for Putin has been received from Africa. According to central Russian media outlets, Nigeriens have recorded a rap song in honor of the Russian dictator. This is part of Russia's strategy to demonstrate its active support for Putin in Africa. However, the video was filmed with funds from the “Russian House” in Niger. These structures are an integral part of the federal body "Rossotrudnichestvo" within the Russian Foreign Ministry. In this way, Russia recruits "supporters" in the countries where these institutions were opened.

Ukrainian journalists have repeatedly identified Russian FSB agents who have been recruiting pro-Russian agents of influence in Ukraine under the guise of Rossotrudnichestvo representatives.

In 2022, this organization held anti-Ukrainian rallies in European countries, resulting in sanctions being imposed on it.

As previously reported by Ukrinform, an activist from Uruguay who visited the Russian House in Argentina subsequently became a pseudo-observer at illegal elections in the occupied territory of Ukraine.

Russia organizes such information campaigns to create the illusion of support for the Russian dictator in Ukraine and abroad, claiming it is the "aggressive governments" of other countries that are seeking confrontation with Russia, while ordinary citizens actually support Putin and only "dream" of such a president.

This is intended to exert pressure on governments that are expected to heed the people's opinion and make concessions to the Russian leader, as well as to demonstrate that Putin, who is on the international wanted list for kidnapping Ukrainian children, is not truly isolated from the world but has substantial international "support."

As reported by Ukrinform, Russian propaganda tried to manipulate the topic of support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine through fake postcards and ads.

Andriy Olenin