Original article (in Montenegrin) was published on 12/01/2022
It is often unbelievable how the statements and actions of prominent public figures from the world of film, sports, politics and similar are abused.
This type of manipulation is best reflected in the fact that many celebrities have been repeatedly credited with statements, which are significantly altered compared to the original and often completely fabricated.
An example of this can be found in an announcement that was unveiled a few months ago, in which it is claimed that the Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves said that Kosovo is Serbia.
However, this time, the same person is linked to the alleged Orthodox Christmas felicitation.
Several websites from Montenegro and Serbia published information that one of the most famous Hollywood actors felicitated Orthodox Christmas.
“KEANU REEVES FELICITATES ORTHODOX BELIEVERS CHRISTMAS: He posted a photo with an Orthodox icon on Twitter”, is the title of the article published on the website “Volim Podgoricu”. The same news was shared on their official Facebook page.
Furthermore, the news was also published by the website “Alo”, which previously claimed that Reeves refused to recognize the independence of Kosovo.
“ICON IN THE HANDS OF A HOLLYWOOD STAR Keanu Reeves wished everyone a happy Orthodox Christmas, fans are thrilled!”, states the title.
“This year, in an original way, but without a word, he congratulated the Orthodox Christians the happiest holiday!”, the text claims.
The websites “Mondo.rs”, “Glas-javnosti”, “Srbijadanas”, “Happy” and “Magazin Novosti” also reported that Keanu Reeves wished Orthodox believers a happy Christmas.
The mentioned media claim that Keanu Reeves wished them a happy Christmas, which is supported by a photo of the actor holding an Orthodox icon. The photo on which the disputed claim is based was published in 2019.
“Famous Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves shares a photo with a Greek Orthodox icon. We love him even more”, is stated in the description of the Facebook post from October 2019.
The statements claim that the famous actor shared the photo in honor of Orthodox Christmas on his Twitter account.
It is a well-known fact that a famous Hollywood actor does not use social networks, which he confirmed on one occasion. Upon further search, we found the post on a fake Twitter account, but we could not determine how the photo was created and what it represents.
All this leads to the conclusion that his photo was misused because there is no evidence that Keanu Reeves published it, nor that he wished the Orthodox believers a happy Christmas.
For that reason, the publications found on the websites “Volim Podgoricu”, “Alo”, “Mondo”, “Glas-javnosti”, “Srbija danas”, “Happy”, and “Magazin Novosti” are rated “fake news”.
This assessment is given to the original media report (entirely produced by the media that published it), which contains factually incorrect claims or information. Content that is assessed as fake news could have been created and disseminated to misinform the public, that is, to present a claim that is entirely false as fact.
Edit: January 14, 2021.
The website Alo published a correction in its original text, clearly using the ethical standard of professional conduct of journalists and denied the original allegations. So, we give them a rating of refuted. The “refuted” rating is given in cases when the media determines that the content falls under one of the above-described negative ratings, and then refutes it in a clear and visible manner, in accordance with the principles.