Russian propaganda used a fake American graffiti to denigrate Zelenskyy

To cast doubt on the legitimacy of the Ukrainian administration, propagandists used a graphic editor to fabricate a photo. A snapshot purportedly shot in a city in the US state of California is making its way through Russian media outlets, Telegram channels, and X bots.

The photo depicts President Volodymyr Zelensky as a graffiti artist, “holding onto” the letters that spell out USAID.

This is a fake, UkrInform has found out in its investigation. Russian propagandists claim that the building where the allegedly painted graffiti is not located in California. The journalists tracked this item down using the features of Google Maps.

The gray-walled building’s parking lot really lies on Potomac Street in the nation’s capital. There is no graffiti on the building, and there never has been, according to Ukrinform’s Washington journalist who checked this spot.

The fact that snow was falling in the nation’s capital at the same time that Russian propagandists were circulating the false photo is also noteworthy. The shot featuring the phony graffiti, on the other hand, depicts a sunny season.

By utilizing graphic editors and deepfake technology, propagandists were able to superimpose a synthetic graffiti image over an actual photo. They bolstered the post’s credibility by claiming the photo was shot in California.

Supposedly seen on the streets of big cities across the globe, Russian media often promotes so-called cartoons starring the President of Ukraine. In the past, fact-checkers from Ukrinform had already exposed several such hoaxes, such as a Brussels-supposedly-filmed video featuring anti-Ukrainian graffiti and photographs of graffiti in Warsaw and Paris.

Spreading the idea that Western society and governments apparently do not support Ukraine and creating an unfavorable image of Volodymyr Zelensky are the goals of this disinformation campaign.

A falsehood claimed by Russian propaganda in the past that USAID “deceived” the Pope into meeting with the wives of the captured fighters from the Azov Regiment has been circulated.

U.S. President Donald Trump suspended all foreign assistance programs for 90 days on January 20th, per an executive order, to assess their alignment with his political objectives.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued an executive order to end all foreign assistance programs on January 24. The only areas that could potentially receive emergency food supplies are Sudan and the Gaza Strip.

Trump then called for the closure of USAID due to fraud and corruption. Subsequently, the largest U.S. unions—the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Foreign Service Association—sued the Trump administration, demanding the halt of USAID’s closure.