Video of anti-Zelenskyy billboard in Japan is altered, predates Russia invasion | Fact check

Chris Mueller, USA TODAY
·2 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

The claim: Video shows digital billboard in Japan with anti-Zelenskyy message

A July 30 post (direct link, archive link) on X, formerly Twitter, shows video of a crowd crossing a city street at night.

"'Stop Zelensky, Stop War!' In Japan," reads the video's caption, which is describing a message that seems to appear on a digital billboard.

The video was retweeted more than 9,000 times in four days. It was shared on Facebook more than 50 times, according to CrowdTangle, a social media analytics tool.

Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks

Our rating: Altered

The video was altered to include the anti-Zelenskyy billboard. The original video shows a different advertisement in its place, and it was posted online more than a year before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Video edited to include anti-Zelenskyy display

The clip in the post was taken from a much longer video uploaded to YouTube on Oct. 18, 2020, by a verified account called "Virtual Japan," which posts videos of daily life in Japan.

It shows the same buildings, vehicles and people as the clip in the post, but the digital billboard in question does not show a message critical of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Instead, it shows white Japanese writing on a pink background followed by images of people.

An image of the intersection in Shibuya City, Tokyo, taken in October 2022 can be seen on Google Maps. The billboard in that image does not show an anti-Zelenskyy billboard either.

Fact check: Elon Musk did not claim to be a flat earther on Joe Rogan's podcast

The longer video predates Russia's invasion of Ukraine by more than a year. Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, with Zelenskyy becoming the public face of Ukraine's resistance.

Japan has sanctioned Russia in response to the invasion, and it has provided financial aid and non-lethal equipment to Ukraine. Japan has strict rules that typically prevent it from sending weapons to countries involved in a conflict.

Reuters and Check Your Fact also debunked the claim.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaperhere.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Video altered to show anti-Zelenskyy billboard in Japan | Fact check