Russian fake on Ukrainian OLX: ‘Unique opportunity to move to Europe’
Russian Telegram channels shared screenshots from OLX.ua Ukrainian online advertising platform. The publication informs that a two-bedroom apartment is for rent in the city of Lviv, Pekarska Street, on the second floor. The description of the apartment caused a passionate reaction of Russian propagandists. It states that "if the city's territory is transferred to the jurisdiction of another state, a lessee is obliged to fulfill his/her obligations in full under the current lease agreement." In addition, there is a caption below that renting this apartment is a "unique opportunity to move to Europe in one day." The photos of the apartment are attached to the ad. On one of them, the flag of Poland reading "Ready to return Lviv" in Polish is allegedly hanging on the wall in the apartment.
Although such an ad was indeed posted on OLX.ua site, it is fake.
The author of the publication gets confused in the apartment details. First, it is stated that the apartment is on the 2nd floor and a bit lower – on the 8th.
The author of the ad registered with OLX platform only in January 2023 which also raises doubts.
In addition, a reverse Google search for the image showed that photos of this apartment were already published on the website of rental ads in the Russian Federation.
It turned out that the photos show an apartment located not in Lviv but in Moscow, 3 Yegerska Str.
In addition, the Polish flag with an anti-Ukrainian message is missing from the original photos.
Recently, the narrative about the alleged occupation of western Ukraine by Poland has been mainstream among Russian propagandists. They have already spread a fake about the duplication of signs and street names in Lviv city and the region in Polish, also resorting to image manipulation. The Russians fabricated a picture in which Lviv seems to be part of Poland.
As reported, Stanisław Żaryn, Government Plenipotentiary for the Security of Information Space of the Republic of Poland, believes that Russian propaganda is trying to influence public opinion in Poland to reduce public support for Ukraine.
Dmytro Badrak
