In October 2024, Telegram channels distributed a photograph of graffiti that allegedly appeared near Paul McCartney’s house in the British capital. It depicts members of The Beatles, one of whom has his wallet stolen by the President of Ukraine. We have verified the accuracy of such publications.
On October 8-9, a photograph of graffiti in London, playing off the album cover, circulated on social networks Abbey Road by The Beatles. Behind George Harrison is a man who looks like Vladimir Zelensky, pulling a wallet out of the musician’s pocket. In the upper left corner it says “Here comes the wallet”, probably a reference to the song Here Comes the Sun from the same album. Many authors who shared the photo claimed that the graffiti was placed near Paul McCartney's house.
The news about the appearance of graffiti was spread by such Telegram channels as “Luka Ebkov"(404,000 views at the time of writing this analysis), "KB"(228,000), "Belarusian security officer" (133,000) and "Sheikh Tamir" (117,000), as well as some media (for example, "Politicus" And Unews.pro).
A reverse Google image search revealed a photo of this graffiti from a different angle. It shows more details that help identify the location of the design, in particular the logo that says Overground, London's Overground.
Both images appeared on the Internet back in July 2024. The earliest publication that was found “Verified” was posted in the Telegram channel “Ukraine.ru"in the evening of July 14. The content of the post is identical to the later publications mentioned at the beginning of this analysis. Although they wrote about graffiti “Arguments and facts" And "Ukraine.ru”, then the photos did not go viral. Pro-Kremlin Telegram channels began actively distributing them only in October.
Judging by the photograph, the graffiti is located near the roadway, on the wall under the bridge. The Overground sign indicates that this bridge likely carries railroad tracks. The Telegram channels that disseminated the information also indicated that the graffiti was located near Paul McCartney's house. Mansion, where the musician lived, is now considered a city landmark. It is located at 7 Cavendish Avenue. “Verified” studied photographs of this area using Google Street View and did not find the wall depicted in the photograph, and the Overground stations closest to the McCartney mansion are located 15–20 minutes away. on foot.
A reverse Google photo search revealed that both photos were taken approximately 8 km from the musician's house, next to the station "Hoxton" The wall where the graffiti is supposed to be posted is located under the railroad bridge on Cramer Street. The last time Google Street View filmed this place was in June 2022, when there was no graffiti there.
In London, painting graffiti without permission from the authorities is illegal and punishable fined £75. There are several places to display street art in the British capital, but this bridge in Hackney is one of them. not included. Each London borough has an official website through which residents can complain about municipal problems: uncollected garbage, dirt or illegal graffiti. However, "Verified" failed find no claims about the image with Zelensky and the Beatles. At the same time, residents of the area, as a rule, react to other graffiti, especially with political statements.
Hoxton station, near which the graffiti allegedly appeared, is located near central London, but only two photographs of this drawing are available on the Internet. British and London media did not publish news about his appearance, and city residents and tourists did not share other photographs on social networks. As mentioned above, two images spread in the Russian-speaking segment of the Internet after a post in the Telegram channel “Ukraine.ru" This edition incoming into the structure of the state agency "Russia Today". "Ukraina.ru" repeatedly featured in the analysis “Verified” as a distributor of fakes.
This is not the first time that pro-Kremlin Telegram channels have appeared. publish false information about graffiti allegedly appearing in European cities depicting Zelensky. Many graffiti are united by the narrative that the Ukrainian president is embezzling money transferred to Ukraine as part of Western support. At the same time, the politician is depicted, for example, in the image black hole or locusts.
Thus, not a single reliable source confirms that graffiti depicting Zelensky and members of The Beatles has appeared in London. Information about him first appeared in the summer in the Telegram channel of the publication Ukraina.ru, part of the state agency Rossiya Segodnya, and subsequently spread through other pro-Kremlin media and Telegram channels.
Cover photo: social networks
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