In December 2023, a picture of leaflets was scattered on the Internet, allegedly taken in one of the kindergartens in Ukrainian Poltava: the characteristic features of Santa Claus and Santa Claus, by which they can be distinguished, were listed. We decided to check if this information corresponds to reality.

The distributed photo shows a poster hanging on the wall, where the differences between the two characters of the New Year are listed. It is said about Santa Claus that he is always cheerful, travels on magic sleighs with deer, closer to Western values. Santa Claus, according to the authors of the leaflet, is an eternally sad remnant of the Soviet past who lives with a minor granddaughter. The fact that in Poltava children are taught to distinguish these characters by such leaflets, some said Media And informational Portals. Social networks are divided by the picture ("VKontakte" X, "Classmates") And Platform blog. Posted a photo at home and popular Telegram channels: ""Uncle Glory"(172,000 views at the time of writing of the analysis), Voblya (133,000), "Mriya"(103,000),"Ukraine.ru"(90 000),"Kostyan Cat - Official Channel"(88 000) and others.

None of the posts specify in which kind of children's institution a leaflet was noticed. The photo also does not allow us to establish where it is placed: in the picture you can see only the poster itself without any weekend, as well as a piece of wall decorated with tinsel and paper snowflakes. The poster is an ordinary A4 sheet with a color seal placed in a file. The images used in it are in the public domain and are not the first time used in designs with New Year's themes: for example, such a drawing of Santa Claus is found at Gift boxes, and Santa Claus - in Illustrations children's fairy tales, design sites of preschool institutions, etc. Theoretically make a similar poster, attach it to the wall and anyone could take a photo.

Our colleagues-factory from the project Ukrinform They noticed that the content of the leaflet, allegedly created for kindergarten pupils, raises some questions. Firstly, not all preschoolers know how to read, and it would be more logical to depict the differences between two New Year characters with pictures for distribution in kindergartens. Secondly, it is unlikely that children under six to seven years of age understand what “proximity to Western values” is served as one of the advantages of Santa Claus, and why the fact that Santa Claus lives with a minor granddaughter should be regarded as a drawback.

Previously, “verified” has already analyzed the fake that Ukrainian animators They were forbidden to dress up In the costume of Santa Claus. Then, a photo of the leaflets posted on the board of ads also served as confirmation of this information. At that time, Santa Claus was not compared with Santa Claus, but with St. Nicholas, however, the theses selected for this comparison are very similar. So, on that poster it was argued that Santa Claus is “a pedophile who walks with a minor slut.” However, that leaflet was allegedly placed in one of the Ukrainian events and appealed to an adult audience. In the kindergarten, the hints that Santa Claus is a pedophile co -living with a minor girl, at least inappropriate and hardly available for understanding by preschool children. It is logical to assume that the authors of leaflets from the Poltava kindergarten were inspired by an earlier fake about the ban of Santa Claus costumes for animators.

The earliest publication of a photo of the poster, which “verified” was found, was released in the pro-Russian Telegram channel “Ukraine.ru»December 19, 2023 at 15:16 Moscow time. In the post is the hashtag “they write to us”, hinting that the picture was received from one of the subscribers. Previously, this channel was noticed dozens of times in the spread of fakes about Ukraine. Many of them “verified” refuted: for example, that Ukrainians are forced to go to Estonian army under the threat of deportation, in the Ukrainian book "War and the Bible"There is the chapter" killing Russians is not a sin "or that Zelensky bought Two yachts for $ 75 million.

Resonance posters placed on the boards of ads or walls, from the photo of which it is impossible to determine where they are specifically hanging, is a popular method of creating fakes. Earlier on the network, photos of posters on the recruitment of American debtor students in the Armed Forces or about the collection donor blood In Ukraine, only purebred Ukrainians. All of them, following the results of the audit, were fake.

Thus, “verified” failed to detect any evidence that such leaflets are spreading in Poltava kindergartens. It would be possible to assume that this is a private initiative of employees of one of the kindergartens of the city. However, doubts about this are the fact that the content of the poster is clearly not intended for the audience of preschool age and at the same time repeats the theses from a similar leaflet, the photo of which was distributed a week earlier and turned out to be a fake. In addition, the picture originally appeared in the Telegram channel, already noticed in the regular distribution of inaccurate information. All this in conjunction allows, with a great degree of confidence, it allows you to say that a photograph of the leaflet with the distinctive features of Santa Claus and Santa Claus is a fake.

Photo on the cover: Telegram channel "Ukraine.ru"