In September 2024, a video circulated on social networks: allegedly, artist Nikita Kushnir, living in Poland, voluntarily amputated his leg to raise funds for the Ukrainian army. We decided to find out whether such publications are reliable.
A video with the Euronews channel logo began to spread across Telegram channels on September 9, 2024. It says that Ukrainian artist Nikita Kushnir became the first person in Poland to undergo voluntary amputation of a limb. Kushnir allegedly suffers from a syndrome of violation of the integrity of perception of one’s own body. This is a mental disorder in which physically healthy people feel an irresistible desire to become disabled - usually to lose one or more limbs. Thanks to his illness, they say in the video, Kushnir managed to obtain permission for amputation. Taking this opportunity, the artist wanted to raise €1 million to support wounded Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers, but through streams and charity events he managed to raise no more than €3,000.
According to TGStat, posts about Kushnir on Telegram received more than 6.5 million views. Among the most popular posts are publications in the channels “Live broadcast"(858,000 views at the time of writing this analysis), "KB +18"(323,000), Colonelcassad (269,000), "Russia now"(264,000), "Uncle Slava"(227,000), "Evil proof"(209,000), "Observer"(206,000), "Bottle"(189,000), "Putin on Telegram" (twice - 187,000 And 185,000) And Zergulio (142,000). The information was spread across other social networks (X, Facebook, "VKontakte") and even got into the press - for example, in "Moskovsky Komsomolets"
Body Integrity Disorder (BIID) - existing, but a rather rare pathology. It is still poorly studied (the first systematic research published in 2004) and was only included in the 11th version International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), which came into force in 2022. Typically, the few recorded cases of amputation of healthy limbs in people with BIID cause heated discussion both in the press and in the professional community (as well as scandals and accusations of violation of medical ethics). The most famous example is the two operations that completed the same surgeon at the same Scottish hospital in 1997 and 1999 (at the time this caused international discussion about the ethics of the procedure), and the most recent - amputation of two fingers patient with this syndrome in Canada. If such an operation actually took place in Poland these days, it would also become the subject of discussion, if not in wide circles, then at least among doctors. However, neither in Polish news resources, neither in English news “Checked” did not find any information about the amputation of the leg of the Ukrainian artist. The only Polish-language publication that reported on Kushnir’s alleged act was a pro-Russian website News-pravda.com. There this news was published with a link to the Russian-language Telegram channel Neinsider.
The viral video, which appears to consist solely of stock footage, does not show Kushnir's face or provide any details from his biography. “Verified” was unable to find social media accounts of a Ukrainian artist living in Poland with the same name. We also could not find traces of the streams during which, as stated in the video, Kushnir was collecting money for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“Verified” also examined verified Euronews accounts in Instagram, TikTok, X And Facebook, as well as official website TV channel and its profile on YouTube. These resources do not contain a video about the action organized by the Ukrainian artist. In addition, the viral video differs significantly from the content that Euronews publishes on social networks. Thus, a TV channel usually shows the face of the hero, speaker or author of the story, and also uses an audio track with his commentary, while subtitles have an auxiliary function. Moreover, the subtitles themselves in genuine Euronews videos are designed differently - the font that we see in the video about Kushnir is usually used by the channel only in the intro.
The earliest publication with a viral video that “Verified” was able to detect appeared in the Telegram channel “Kot Kostyan - official channel"(141,000 views). Previously "Verified" repeatedly incriminated this channel in publishing false messages.
Thus, the Euronews TV channel did not publish a video about a Ukrainian artist who amputated his leg to collect donations for the benefit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This story was not covered by reputable Polish and international publications, and for the first time, a video showing signs of falsification appeared on the pro-Kremlin Telegram channel, which had previously repeatedly disseminated disinformation.
“Verified” has already repeatedly analyzed fake videos that mimic news stories from the world’s largest media outlets. Many of them were aimed at discrediting Ukraine and Ukrainians. So, at the end of 2023, Russian-language Telegram channels distributed fake video about a Ukrainian refugee allegedly detained in Paris for trying to copulate with a sculpture.
Cover photo: Pexels
Read on topic:
- Meduza. Lose a leg, find yourself. How do Russian “voluntary amputees” live - people who want to lose a limb?
- False authorities. How the BBC became the brand of choice for fake video creators
- Is it true that the Euronews channel published a report about a Ukrainian who damaged a sculpture in Paris?
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