Is it true that Zelensky’s personal doctor fled to Europe?

In July 2024, a video was spreading on social networks that the doctor of the Ukrainian president had not returned from a foreign conference - BBC allegedly reported this with reference to the Bellingcat investigation. We checked the authenticity of this video.

As reported in the video lasting 80 seconds, not named by the name the personal endocrinologist Vladimir Zelensky did not return to Ukraine after a trip to a conference in the UK. The investigative project Bellingcat allegedly reported sources in the office of the President of Ukraine. It is alleged that the loss of the physician became known on July 15 after the conference at the Imperial College of London. The night before, he did not return to his room in the London Ritz Hotel, and on July 16 he was supposedly seen in the center of Ukrainian emigrants in Paris. Also, the doctor allegedly turned to the Paris Prefecture with a request for protection, which would allow him to legally be in France from six months to three years.

This news was distributed "Russian newspaper" Eadaily, "The main regional","Power block"And other media, as well as Telegram channels, among which"Sheikh Tamir"(328,000 views at the time of writing this analysis), Voblya (120,000), "Ukraine.ru"(118 000),"Ukraine bez options"(32 000) and"Coachman"(26,000).

Not a single publication in the media or social networks with a roller from the BBC has a direct link to the source, only to the main page of the site of the British media corporation. "Verified" studied BBC resources: website and verified accounts in social networks (Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, Tiktok)-and there was no evidence that this video has ever been published there. Since the material refers to the information that was received by the investigation project Bellingcat, we also checked him resources And they became convinced that he did not disseminate such information.

Viral video does not look like those that spreads in their own social networks BBC. Short vertical videos of media corporations are accompanied by comments of announcements, not subtitles.

On the website of the Faculty of Medicine of the Imperial College of London, where Published The schedule of thematic conferences, there is no information about such events in mid -July. Moreover, July 13 and 14 - weekends, Saturday and Sunday.

Photos and videos used in a viral video are not directly related to the described events and, apparently, are taken from open sources. At the same time, for example, a fragment of how the doctor allegedly requested asylum in France is accompanied by personnel from the Ukrainian-Polish border.

July 24, Bellingcat published tweet With a screenshot from a viral video that accompanied with a comment: “We know about a significant number of fake videos appearing on social networks and false BBC reports that contain the Bellingcat investigation.” Representatives of the project noted that "in all these videos you will not be able to hear the speech of the participants, the information is submitted to the audience only in text form." Tweet reputed BBC journalist Shayan Sardarizade.

At the end of 2023, "verified" already It wrote About fake videos that distributed in the pro-Kremlin Telegram channels under the guise of BBC rollers (many of them were retold non-existent investigations Bellingcat). All of them were somehow connected with Ukraine. Publishing such videos continued And in 2024.

The spread of these videos began on Russian or pro -Russian resources. In this case, the first video was published on July 19, 2024 at 12:20 Moscow time Telegram channel "Sheikh Tamir". This resource is repeatedly was Strengthened "Tested" in the spread of inaccurate information, including fake BBC video in March 2024.

Photo on the cover: social networks

Fake

What do our verdicts mean?

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