In June 2024, a video appeared in the media and social networks, which was allegedly filmed at an event dedicated to Pride Month. The recording shows a van with the logo of a Ukrainian military unit and words of support for Ukraine. We have verified the accuracy of such messages.
The viral 8-second video has been spreading across the RuNet since June 4. It shows a blue van, the door of which appears to have the logo of the Azov Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine in the colors of the LGBT flag. Also on the car door there is an English-language inscription “LGBTQ+ supports Ukraine.” A man's voice can be heard off-screen, saying in Ukrainian: “Yes, today in style. Well, how do you like this support from the West?”
According to the TGStat service, about 150 channels wrote about this video on Telegram, whose posts in total received almost 1.4 million views. Moreover, the authors commented on the video in different ways. For example, in the caption to a post on a TV presenter’s channel Vladimir Solovyov (179,000 views at the time of writing this analysis) states: “Azov fighters are actively undergoing retraining in the United States.” Presenter channel Ruslana Ostashko (86,000 views) put it differently: “In the West, the LGBT movement decided to support the Azov militants.” Some authors complement: “What regiment, such support” - although at the beginning of 2023 the Azov regiment was reorganized to the brigade. Similar publications can be found in Telegram channels “Uncle Slava"(181,000 views), Voblya (141,000), "First People's"(104,000), "Voice of Mordor" (41,000) and "Freshness"(40,000), on YouTube and in the media, including Pravda.ru (Telegram And "VKontakte").
On June 6, a continuation of this story appeared on the Internet. It was reported that the Azov Brigade appreciated the “gesture of support from American minorities”, published a viral video on its Telegram channel and set an avatar with a rainbow flag in honor of Pride Month. Channel "Three heroes and Zelensky drug addict“(140,000 views) writes (spelling and punctuation preserved): “True, they quickly corrected it. Not everyone agreed to support LBGT. They say a neo-Nazi battalion cannot support gays and lesbians. As a result, the recording and avatar were quickly erased, but everything was preserved on the Internet.” Screenshots of a post on the Azova channel were cited as evidence. In total, less than 20 similar posts appeared on Telegram, receiving just over 250,000 views. For example, the channel “Urgently, now"(52,000 views) and news agency Regnum (Telegram, "VKontakte" And "Classmates").
“Verified” noticed that at the bottom of the van from the viral video there is not only the inscription “LGBTQ+ stands with Ukraine.” For example, on the right you can see the phrase “esearch MHF pharmacy”. We assumed that the missing letter r in the English word research should be on the door, but it already says support for Ukraine (and in a different font).
By searching the keywords “Verified” I found out that in this case MHF stands for Men's Health Foundation (The Men's Health Foundation) is an American non-profit primary care organization. Company clarifies, that all men can go there, but it specializes specifically in working with gay men. In 2024, the foundation actually participated in several prides - one of which passed in mid-May in Long Beach, California. “Verified” studied publications on MHF social networks and found many photos and videos from that event. In one of rollers a similar blue van is captured.
On YouTube we found video report from the same pride where the van from the viral video was filmed in the same place, but from a slightly different angle. Fact checkers from the “No Nonsense” project, in turn, found the original two-minute recording, an edited excerpt of which is being distributed in pro-Kremlin media and Telegram channels.
In both videos, no Ukrainian speech can be heard behind the scenes, and on the car door there is neither the emblem of the Azov brigade in rainbow colors, nor words in support of Ukraine. The van was actually painted with an advertisement for medical research. Mills Clinical Research — instead of the logo of a Ukrainian military unit, it shows a running man and the English-language inscription “Live longer, happier and healthier.”
As for the alleged post with a fake video on the Azov Telegram channel, most publications provide two screenshots at once. One of them shows an entry in the TGStat service, which indicates that the post appeared on June 6 at 00:31 Moscow time and was deleted at 00:34. The second screenshot was allegedly taken in the messenger app at 00:32 - this image shows that the brigade's channel has changed its avatar.
Verified examined both images and concluded that they were fabricated. Firstly, in the TGStat service on page brigade of such a record has not been saved. Secondly, at the top of the second screenshot you can see part post, published on June 4 at 17:05, but then there is no date change mark (“June 6”), which should have been before the avatar change entry. Third, the same image shows 36,700 views on the June 4th post, however, according to statistics This publication in TGStat, by 00:32 on June 6, it had been read more times. The recording had this number of views on June 5 in the period from 18:00 to 19:00 - this is consistent with the number of subscribers that the channel had then (273,032). Apparently, the screenshot that served as the basis for the fake was taken at that time.
Let us add that on June 12, the Telegram channel calling itself a satirical “Biden's underpants"(8900 views) published a third screenshot of the alleged post on the Azov channel, but there is no additional information on it.
Thus, the Azov Brigade emblem was not placed on the van participating in the US Pride. The original video posted on YouTube has been edited to indicate that the minivan was an advertisement for a men's health clinic. Screenshots of a non-existent post of the Azov brigade in its Telegram channel were also fabricated.
Cover photo: social networks
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