In March 2023, a 3D-rushing photo appeared on the Internet on one of the streets of the capital of Spain. On this street art, the President of Ukraine is represented in the image of an insatiable insect. We checked the authenticity of the viral picture.
The distributed photo shows graffiti, which depicts Vladimir Zelensky in the form of locusts, eating a bag with the euro. In this he is helped by other insects with wings in the colors of the Ukrainian flag. Also in the center of the picture, the alleged author of the street art is noticeable: he sits on his knees in dark clothes, his face is hidden, and in his hands he holds a little thing.
Graffiti publications began to appear massively in Telegram from March 10. Among the channels that posted the picture - “What happened?"(123,000 views at the time of writing this text), Putin TG Team (82 000), "Russia 2.0"(59,000),"New 🅉 Ukraine"(35,000),"Emergency / Crimea"(20,000) and"TV"(15,000). In the photo with street art, they also drew attention to the media: ""News","Arguments and facts","Federal News Agency" And "Evening Moscow". All these resources states that the authors signed the picture as follows: “This locust continues to devour the money of the West in exchange for the lives of thousands of innocent people. It is necessary to crush this creature as soon as possible, until it has gobbled up the whole crop. ” Another signature version is presented on the site "Economics today":" This locust continues to devour the finances of Europe. " Also, users of VKontakte spoke about the picture (examples here, here And here) And "Zena".
The primary source of the viral photo of the street art is the social networks of the Typical Optical team, which calls itself a group of artists from Poland. There the picture was published in the evening of March 9 - in Instagram*-acound with 352 subscribers photo was Layd in the form of nine separate publications, and the whole image appeared in the story and Telegram-Canale. The signature is the same everywhere: "This locust continues to devour the finances of Europe." The sign of the signature, which was reported in some media, could not be found. According to geotags and hashtags, the photograph was taken in Madrid.
Typical Optical-permanent guests of Russian pro-government media, Telegram channels and bloggers who talked about all their work. In total, “Polish artists” allegedly painted seven graffiti on the streets of different cities in Europe and the USA, and they are all quite the same: Zelensky in the form Acne, Feckali, a couple of times in the form Loads And Three times In the image Black hole. All of them were disassembled “checked”, and in all cases we came to the conclusion that those 3D-risins never appeared on real sidewalks, and the pictures were changed in photo editors. In addition, incorrect locations were indicated several times in geotags.
We found that the photo really depicts a pedestrian zone in the Spanish capital. Thanks to the inscription with the name of the medical organization (Organización Médica Colegial de España) on the roof of the white building in the background "Checked" managed to calculate the exact place: pedestrian sidewalk near house number 7 on Cortes Square (Plaza de las Cortes).
It is noteworthy that one of the previous graffiti with a locality from Typical Optical was allegedly also made In Madrid, and Cortes on the same square. The corresponding photo was published in December 2022. The distance between the places from the first and second photos can overcome On foot in just a couple of minutes. We compared the clothes that were in the “artists” captured in both pictures, and came to the conclusion that this is the same person. Based on this, it is very likely that the photographs were taken on the same day. In this case, if this street art installation was really created, it is unlikely that the authors would not share this photo for several months.
This is not the first time that Typical Optical was made photoaging. For example, in November 2022 they Reportedthat they painted graffiti in Paris, and in February 2023 Published Photo of the drawing supposedly from Brussels. In fact, both pictures were taken in the suburbs of the French capital, and then graffiti was imposed on them with Photoshop. Also in January 2023 Typical Optical shared A couple of photographs supposedly from London and Berlin, but in fact it turned out that in both cases the place of shooting was Zurich (and, apparently, she passed at the same time).
Cortes Square is located in the very center of the Spanish capital, next to it located The building of the congress of deputies of Spain, and Nearby - Museum Prado. Thousands of local residents and tourists are held there daily, but it was not possible to find a single photo of graffiti from another angle on the network. This was the same with the first 3D-rice of the locust in Madrid, and correspondents Radio France International and agencies AFP Then the employees of the companies located nearby were interviewed, and they did not see and did not hear about such street arts with Zelensky.
If you do not take into account the posts of Typical Optical for March 9, then the earliest record we found about the second Madrid graffiti appeared in the Telegram channel "Before everyone else. Well, almost. Special operation"(13,000 views), where the photo was published on March 10 at 13:01 Moscow time. In the same channel was And the earliest post with the first Madrid graffiti. In addition, “before everyone else. Well, almost. Special operation " - The source The fake cover of the American satirical magazine Humor Times, on which the Ukrainian president was also depicted in the form of locusts.
At the time of writing this analysis on the Typical Optical Instagram, only nine segments of the second picture from Madrid were published, and all previous photos are deleted. Apparently, the authors are cleaning the traces after the algorithms of META* on the basis of inspections of independent facts Stand Their publications as inaccurate information.
Thus, the viral photo of graffiti with Zelensky in the form of locusts is the eighth work of the Typical Optical team, whose previous seven pictures, according to the analysis of “verified” and other independent facts projects, turned out to be photographs. There is not a single photograph on the network where the new 3D rushings would be shown in the process of creation or at least from a different angle, and there are no evidence of eyewitnesses. In addition, the new Madrid photo was taken almost in the same place and, very likely, at the same time where the photo published by Typical Optical was shot in December 2022. However, then surveys of employees of the nearby offices and institutions showed that no one saw or heard about graffiti with caricatures in Zelensky.
*Russian authorities They think Meta Platforms Inc., which owns the social network Instagram, an extremist organization, its activities in Russia are prohibited.
Photo on the cover: @typicaloptical
Fake
- Is it true that a monument to Zelensky was erected in Milan in the form of a nose with white powder?
- Is it true that foreign magazines released these covers dedicated to Zelensky and Ukraine?
- Is it true that in Berlin a bus with the inscription "Zelensky - Black Hill" accidentally got into a television report on energy crisis?
- Is it true that the Spanish magazine released these covers with Zelensky and NATO leaders?
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