Is it true that a poster appeared in the UK explaining heating problems as the need to help Ukrainians?

In August 2022, a photograph allegedly taken on the street of a British city circulated on social networks. “You will be cold in winter because they need it more,” reads the inscription on a yellow and blue background. We have verified the authenticity of this image.

On August 24, a photo with a poster saying You’ll be cold in the winter because they need it more was distributed across Telegram channels. “This poster in Britain tells us that there are also plenty of weak-minded people there, since no one took down or tore this poster. But if they did take a photograph and post it on the Internet, then it means that someone has already begun to suspect something, that something is dirty with Ukraine,” wrote anonymous channel "?? Open Ukraine | Open Ukraine" (182,000 subscribers at the time of writing this analysis). Channel “Vladlen TatarZky” (386,000) calls and the specific location where the photo was taken was Southend-on-Sea in the southeast of the UK, near London. The photo was also posted on other social networks: “VKontakte», Facebook And Twitter.

We checked the image using services that allow us to assess whether the image has been photoedited. The results of the error analysis level (ELA; more about it we wrote in one of the previous analyses) indicate that the photograph was edited and initially there was no poster in the colors of the Ukrainian flag on it. Services confirm this FotoForensics And InVID & WeVerify. Image analysis carried out using the method led to similar conclusions. JPEG Ghosts.

To our colleagues at Reuters succeeded find the original photograph that has been edited. She posted on the website of the British company KMS Media, the picture shows posters advertising the performances of musicians. “Posters in Manchester city centre,” the image caption reads. It has nothing to do with the city of Southend-on-Sea, as the authors of viral publications on social networks claimed.

The UK, unlike many other European countries, is weakly dependent on Russian fuel. Last year, 77% of natural gas imports and 50% of crude oil imports into the UK had to to Norway, Russia was in fourth place in both indicators, but was in the lead in supplies of refined oil (24.1%). By June of this year, London, judging by official statistics, will be completely refused from purchasing fuel from Russia.

However, supplies of Russian gas to Europe have been interrupted in recent months, which is why the price of blue fuel remains very high. At the end of the year, the price of gas, as predicts The Office for National Statistics will almost double in the UK, and about one and a half times for electricity. Forecasts for next year are also disappointing - the gas bill could rise another two and a half times in the spring. Six months ago, the British government began to provide various support measures to its own population and is discussing new benefits, but so far they have not produced any noticeable results.

*Russian authorities think Meta Platforms Inc., which owns the social network Facebook, is an extremist organization; its activities in Russia are prohibited.

Cover photo: Twitter

Fake

What do our verdicts mean?

Read on the topic:

1. Reuters. Fact Check — Doctored image of billboard telling Britons ‘you’ll be cold this winter’ viewed widely on social media
2. Is it true that a “No flags” poster was hung at a Ukrainian refugee camp in Spain?
3. Is it true that the UK plans to deport Ukrainian refugees to Rwanda?