Fake news on death of detained man in Kharkiv - Police respond
Photo: Police officer (Getty Images)
Rumors about the alleged death of a 43-year-old man detained by police in Kharkiv have been debunked, and officers clarified the situation, according to the Kharkiv Regional Police.
"The information about the alleged death of a man during an interaction with the police in Kharkiv is false," stated the press service of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kharkiv Region.
What happened
On Saturday evening, posts appeared on Kharkiv-based social media claiming that law enforcement officers stopped a man in central Kharkiv and allegedly used force against him.
Online reports claimed that after showing his documents to the police, the man was not allowed to leave and then suffered an epileptic seizure, which allegedly led to his death.
Additionally, social media circulated footage supposedly from the scene.
Reports surfaced online about the alleged death of a man in Kharkiv, who was stopped by the police (photo: screenshot from the internet)
Police statement
"On April 5, in the Kyiv district, patrol officers stopped a 43-year-old man. During the check, it was discovered that he was wanted by the Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support and Security Service of Ukraine. The man had an epileptic seizure," the statement from the Kharkiv Regional Police says.
It also states that the police "called for medical assistance, and he was taken to the hospital."
"After his condition was stabilized, the man was released to go home," the police said, urging citizens not to spread fake news and to rely only on official sources.
Fake reports on Territorial Center for Recruitment and mobilization intensification
Since the start of the full-scale war, Ukrainians have been warned about widespread fake news. Specifically, the Russians use deepfake technologies to create videos that aim to discredit Ukraine's political and military leadership.
About two weeks ago, the Center for Counteracting Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine debunked another fake about the alleged abduction of a man with a child by the Territorial Center for Recruitment officers in the Kherson region. They emphasized that the video circulating online was staged.
Earlier this year, the fake reports about mobilization in Ukraine had been widely shared on the X social media platform.
Also, a rumor about the alleged intensification of mobilization in Odesa spread online, but the police debunked it.
