Russian fake about Zelenska's foundation: 'Involved in child trafficking to Europe'
Russian propagandists invented that Zelenskaya's foundation allegedly sells children (Collage: RBC-Ukraine)
Russian propagandists have launched a new fake and are spreading it in the English-language press. They claim that the charitable foundation of Olena Zelenska is involved in "child trafficking," exporting them to Europe and handing them over to pedophiles, according to a publication from "Beyond the News" on Facebook.
What is known about the spread of the new fake?
An "exposé" article titled "Olena Zelenska's Organization Accused of Child Trafficking Scandal: Insider Tells All" was published on the English-language website The DC Weekly, registered in Washington, D.C. The article alleges that the foundation supposedly transported Ukrainian orphans to Europe and delivered them into the hands of pedophiles. The author of the material used a video posted on YouTube by an unknown "insider" as a source of information.
At the same time, the unidentified informant hides his face behind a mask to avoid recognition. He claims to have worked as a driver for the foundation.
"It is impossible to confirm that this 'whistleblower' worked there. In the video, the 'insider' speaks French and displays what he calls a pass. However, the poor video quality prevents understanding anything written on the paper. Moreover, we couldn't find anything similar among other foundation employees in open access," explain experts.
The photo and name of the man on the ID are blurred, and the publication states that the French reporter Robert Schmidt conducted the investigation.
"But this is not a real name; it's a made-up character. A French journalist named Robert Schmidt does not cooperate with The DC Weekly and does not write about Ukraine. He specializes in climate issues and investigations into the activities of international organizations," note experts.
In this article, photos of children are added on a form with the inscription "Olena Zelenska Foundation," but the foundation's logo is freely available, and anyone can use it.
The author of this article is Jessica Devlin. She is supposedly a well-known journalist covering reports from the Iraq war since 2000. However, there are no materials by this author on the internet. The photo of Jessica Devlin herself depicts the writer Judith Batallon. This absurd fake is intended for readers who will not fact-check information.
Russians spreading a new fake (photo: Facebook/ On the other side of the news)
What points to the Russian trail?
"What they are accusing Olena Zelenska's organization of is made up, and it also shows that they are not familiar with the activities of the Zelenska foundation - it did not and does not evacuate children. The foundation provides assistance to large foster families orphans, and takes families who have suffered psychological trauma due to the war for rehabilitation in the Carpathians," experts explain.
The organization also provides schools with gadgets necessary for distance learning and rebuilds homes for large foster families who lost their homes due to military actions.
In addition, on September 18, the international grant platform CAF America recognized Olena Zelenska's Foundation as a transparent and reliable organization for collaboration.
"Similar disinformation in English was also broadcast by the fake website The Intel Drop, which positions itself as American. Among its authors is Alexander Sitnikov, who published texts about the 'devastating victory of Russia,'" experts note.
With such publications, the Kremlin continues to undermine trust in the Ukrainian government and its top officials in the West. It is worth mentioning that Russia itself kidnaps children from the occupied territories of Ukraine.
