Is it true that in the Kherson region there were election billboards with slogans against homosexuality and satanism?

In August 2023, social networks bypassed photographs allegedly taken in the part of the Kherson region occupied by Russia on the eve of local elections. We checked whether these pictures are genet.

According to the media and Telegram channels, photographs were taken in the cities of Genichesk and the new Kakhovka of the Kherson region of Ukraine, which have been under the control of the Russian army since February 2022. Judging by the pictures, the candidate for the regional Duma from the United Russia party, the head of the Russian administration of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, made the struggle with LGBT and the Satanists of the key theme of his election campaign. On advertising shields, cars and flyers you can see such slogans as “if you are not gay, vote rather for the balance” and “homosexuality and satanism are a threat to society!”. Some publications were even accompanied by video.

Such resources such as "Echo","Notebook","Kherson Daily" Svtv, "Guys+" And Meta. Wide resonance news caused in "VKontakte"And especially in Telegram, where it shared, in particular, channels"Live broadcast"(757,000 views at the time of writing of the material), VPSh (360,000), "Media Russia not Moscow"(277 000), Times of Ukraine (248,000), "Outsider"(186 000),"Yoshkin Mole" (108,000) and Astra (51,000).

In September 2023, in Russia controlled by Russia, part of the Kherson region of Ukraine, annexed following the referendum in the fall of last year, must pass elections to the regional Duma. In early August "United Russia" I presented it His list of candidates, headed by the acting governor of the region Vladimir Saldo. It was he who became the main hero of the enclosed photographs. Among them are pictures:

• Two billboards with the slogan “Homosexuality and Satanism are a threat to society. If you are against, vote for United Russia! ”;

• Flaireers with the same slogan in mailboxes (these agitmaterials also hit the five -second video);

• posters pasted in a car and in an unidentified place.

On August 26, the regional election commission controlled by the Russian Federation Distributed Advertising areas and airtime for the election campaign of candidates. Moreover, the first messages About the allegedly already placed strange advertising (with one of the billboards) appeared on the network at least on August 23. After the noise has risen, in the regional election commission They saidthat they did not record such materials.

According to Russian Federal Law, all printed and audiovisual agitation materials should, in particular, contain the name of the organization that manufactured, its legal address and the taxpayer identification number, the name of the organization that ordered campaigning, as well as information about the circulation and date of manufacture. There are no these data on the materials with photos and videos. But on three media you can see a QR code. On two of them (a poster and an advertising shield) the code coincides and when scanning leads to the Telegram channel of the Kherson election commission. But on the flyer he does not lead anywhere.

At the same time, it would be logical if the same QR code were either present on all campaign materials, or was completely absent.

Also on the flaer you can see the address of the printing house "OFSET Moscow", Located in the Russian capital. This in itself is not unusual, but if such a flyer was not registered in the Kherson Oblazbarkom, then even printed in Moscow, it will be invalid.

The car number in one of the photos is smeared. In all other pictures, there is actually no background, which complicates geolocation. On one of the advertising shields, there is a spelling error: “United Russia”.

The portrait of the balance, used on all advertising media, is allegedly taken from Telegram channel policy. The old photo itself is its fragment Meet On billboards in support of the politician even before the Russian invasion.

On the pages in social networks associated with “United Russia” or personally with Vladimir Saldo, photographs with slogans about homosexuality and satanism are not found. On real Coating billboards for United Russia in the occupied region do not use a picture of the leader appointed by the Kremlin, the emphasis is made throughout the batch.

Pictures of supposedly campaign materials in the occupied part of the Kherson region appeared gradually and in different sources. August 23 start spread Photo of the first advertising shield, August 24 - poster with agitation for the balance, as well as a poster with the signature “Together with the LDPR against homosexuality” candidate From this party, Arthur Widow. The authenticity of the second poster is also not confirmed, and the QR code on it does not lead to electoral resources, but to the personal Telegram channel of the chairman of the LDPR Leonid Slutsky. On August 26, another one appeared on the Internet Billboard, August 29 - Images car with a poster and flyers (as well as appropriate video). Finally, on August 30 began spread The new poster with Vladimir Saldo - the slogan “The only candidate who is still alive” was placed on it. This happened after such a humorous commentary on one of the billboards Shared In his Telegram channel, adviser to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko (145,000 views). Apparently, this comment was the reason for creating and printing a new poster. Over and over again, only new samples of printed materials appeared on the Internet, but never a picture of the previously published advertisement made from another angle has never got into the network.

Thus, all the facts say that posters, billboards and leaflets of United Russia with homophobic and anti -isatanist slogans in the occupied part of the Kherson region are fake ones. Pictures of advertising shields were probably created in a graphic editor, and flyers and posters were printed and subsequently photographed or imprinted on the video. Like on sites, and in Telegram-Canals of the earliest cases of publication we discovered with the references of each fake agitation material were made by Ukrainian or pro -Ukrainian resources.

Photo on the cover: social networks

Fake

What do our verdicts mean?