Russia trying to discredit U.S. media with fakes about Ukrainian army losses

Russian media outlets, Telegram channels, and YouTube bots are circulating a video claiming to show an MSNBC news program about Ukrainian refugees. In the video, the presenters reportedly highlight the low number of men among those fleeing the war. One presenter allegedly remarks that they are all dead and begins laughing. Russian propagandists assert that American journalists are mocking Ukraine's losses in the war.

This claim is false. Russian propagandists fabricated the video by combining footage from two unrelated news stories aired on different American TV channels.

The first segment is an authentic MSNBC report from April 2022, discussing the visa requirements for Ukrainian refugees seeking to enter the United States.

The second segment, which shows journalists laughing and allegedly mocking Ukrainian losses, has no connection to Ukraine or MSNBC. Instead, it features hosts from Local 12, a regional TV channel in Cincinnati, Ohio. The original segment was about life in a local nursing home, and the host's joke referred to the presence of only one man in the nursing home video they were discussing.

It is also worth noting that the fabricated video was first published in June 2024.

Russian propagandists appear to have developed a new "genre" of disinformation: sourcing videos from regional American media outlets, editing them, and misrepresenting them as evidence of U.S. journalists mocking Ukrainian soldiers. Ukrinform journalists have already debunked a similar fake in the past.

These fakes are designed to undermine the morale of the Ukrainian military and society, promote false narratives about "huge losses" among Ukrainian forces, and discredit Western media and societies in the eyes of Ukrainian citizens.

Previously, Russian propagandists amplified baseless claims about increasing casualties within the Ukrainian Armed Forces during their offensive in the Kursk region.

Andriy Olenin