In January 2025, news spread in the media and social networks that a Russian actor appeared on an advertising banner for an American sperm donor bank. We have verified the accuracy of such messages.
“Yura Borisov has become the face of a sperm bank in California - posters with his face and a jar have already appeared on the streets of the state. All thanks to the hype film "Anora". Here it is, popularity” - a post with this text was published on January 17 in the Telegram channel “Restart"(115,000 views at the time of writing this analysis). The publication included a 10-second video of the alleged billboard. Channel "Ax - hot news"(267,000 views) clarified that the recording was made in Los Angeles. “Does he know about this himself?” - asked the question in the channel Shtoll News (139,000 views), hinting that the ad may have been created without the artist's knowledge.
Similar posts appeared in Telegram channels Mads (96,000 views), MDK (84,000), "Behind the scenes" (61,000), "Investor's office"(52,000), etc. The viral video was also posted on VKontakte: "Salvador to Dali" (co-authored with three other groups, 415,000 views), "Rhymes and punches" (319,000), "5 best films"(287,000), COF (co-authored with four groups, 248,000), etc. The media, including Lenta.ru, "Evening Moscow", "Constantinople" And "Komsomolskaya Pravda"(at the same time, the Telegram channel of the newspaper reposted publication with a video that says: “It’s difficult to believe in its authenticity. There’s a riot of neural networks in the yard, there’s that strange airplane at the top left”). The video can also be found in Facebook*.
In 2024, Russian actor Yura Borisov gained worldwide fame after the release of the film "Anora", in which he played the role of a supporting character named Igor. For his performance in this film, the artist was nominated for many prestigious awards, including “Oscar", "Golden Globe" And British Academy Film Award (BAFTA).
As stated in the above posts, Borisov's success led to a billboard being installed in Los Angeles, which was included in the video being distributed. The captured billboard shows the logo of a sperm bank. California Cryobank, as well as a photo of the actor with the caption: “Do you want your child to look like Yura Borisov from Anora? We're here to help!"
Shortly after this viral post began spreading wife artist, actress Anna Shevchuk, in stories on your page on Instagram* denied that her husband entered into a contract with California Cryobank. “Yura Borisov is not the face of any company in any country in the world,” she wrote, accompanying the statement with a photo of the actor.
“Verified” found out that the video does not depict Los Angeles or even California. Under the billboard you can see the sign of the Amici restaurant, which located in Chicago, Illinois. City press reported, that this establishment opened in the fall of 2023 on the site of the previously closed Harold's Chicken Shop, which is still visible in Google Street View.
Finally, using a reverse screenshot search, “Verified” found a similar video that was back in November 2024 published Instagram user under the nickname Lil Baby Fan Page. Moreover, in that post the video was not cropped. In this version of the recording, the phrase Whatever WHAM Say Goes is shown several times on the billboard - this is an advertisement for the album WHAM rapper Lil Baby. Similar banners have appeared in other American cities, including Los Angeles.
The earliest publication with a fake video that “Verified” could find, appeared January 17 at 12:23 Moscow time on the social network X. The post was published by the user little tony (@AndbalacAnthony), registered on the platform in January 2025. A screenshot of his tweet is often appears in other publications with fake news. At the time of writing this analysis, this post is the only one on the @AndbalacAnthony page.
Thus, Yura Borisov did not become the face of the Californian sperm bank. This was denied by his wife, and the viral video that served as evidence was filmed in another state and edited. Note that some Telegram channels and media, including Lenta.ru, later they wrote that the video was fabricated.
*Russian authorities think Meta Platforms Inc., which owns the social networks Facebook and Instagram, is an extremist organization; its activities and symbols are prohibited in Russia.
Cover photo: frame from the film “Anora” / social networks / collage “Verified”
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