Fact check: Video shows Ukrainian actor, not soldier, performing for a camara

Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY
·3 min read
17

The claim: Video shows Ukrainian soldier acting for a camera

Social media users are sharing a video they claim shows a member of the Ukrainian Armed Forces acting for a camera.

One Instagram post features a video of a man on his knees grunting in pain in front of a cameraman.

"Actors from the Armed Forces of Ukraine pretend to have fallen under a chemical attack," the Oct. 26 post's caption reads. "But why does the second cameraman shoot all this and distribute it? And all in order to show this on the first channel and thereby show that everything that is filmed in Ukraine is fake."

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The video garnered more than 300 views within the first day. Similar viral iterations have been shared on Instagram. A version shared on Twitter garnered more than 5,000 likes in 10 days.

The claim is false. The clip was filmed behind the scenes of a music video and the man is an actor. There is extensive evidence that the war in Ukraine is real.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment.

Video does not show member of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

The clip was filmed behind the scenes of a music video for Ukrainian singer Anna Khanina's song, "Lullaby."

It was shared on TikTok on Oct. 17 by actor Peter Sherekin, who starred in Khanina's video. Sherekin shared other behind-the-scenes footage from the shoot on his TikTok and YouTube.

Khanina confirmed the clip was filmed on the set of her music video in a Facebook message to USA TODAY.

"I really was present at the shooting of these shots, as they happened for my video for the song, 'Lullaby,' which came out a couple of weeks ago," Khanina said. "The song is about the pain for all the inhabitants of Ukraine, which is caused by the war."

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Khanina also mentioned that the segment featured in the post was not included in the final music video in full.

"Not all footage captured was included in the video sequence. Of course, there is more material, as in any such shooting," Khanina explained.

In the past week, the musician has shared several outlets' fact-checks debunking the false claim.

USA TODAY has previously debunked claims that the war in Ukraine is fake. Extensive photo and video evidence, front-line reporting and global economic sanctions placed on Russia prove the war is real.

This claim was debunked by Reuters, PolitiFact and AP News as well.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that a video shows a Ukrainian soldier acting for a camera. The clip was filmed behind the scenes of a music video, and the man is an actor. There is extensive evidence that the war in Ukraine is real.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: False claim that video shows Ukrainian soldier acting