Original article (in Montenegrin) was published on 9/4/2024; Author: Marko Vukajlović
Two years ago, Raskrinkavanje.me reported that the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, did not have assets totaling $850 million, contrary to media claims. Although he holds considerable wealth, it was estimated at around $25 million at that time. In recent Russian propaganda, claims have surfaced that Zelensky remains affluent, purportedly due to his acquisition of a high-value property in Great Britain.
Regional media report: (archived here)
EXCLUSIVE INFORMATION REVEALED BY BRITISH MEDIA: Zelensky acquires residency of Charles III in Britain for 20 million pounds
The content was then disseminated by some social media users, which added (archived here):
That must be his grandfather’s money. Perhaps he won the lottery; he certainly didn’t earn it.
Or maybe he might have discovered forgotten funds, which he got through begging for armament and his private war.
Which ‘British Media’ Reported This Exclusive News?
The ‘British media’ in question is The London Crier, a website that is currently inaccessible. According to Snopes, this website exhibits characteristics of Russian influence and was established in March of this year. It even featured Russian-language publications. This is a known tactic, as reported by The New York Times in the US. Snopes states:
“With the exception of its apparent targeting of a British audience, The London Crier fits the profile of a series of U.S.-targeted websites about which The New York Times reported on March 7, 2024. That network of websites reportedly incorporated “remnants” of the media empire used by the Russian troll factory Internet Research Agency during the 2016 presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.”
The New York Times teams have observed the emergence of websites with names evoking the golden era of American journalism, such as DC Weekly, New York News Daily, Chicago Chronicle, and Miami Chronicle. At first glance, these might appear to be reputable media outlets, but like The London Crier, they were all established this year, likely under Kremlin directives.
The article on The London Crier was based on a YouTube video published on March 31. The uploader, registered as Sam Murphy, published the story in English, echoing claims made by The London Crier and regional media. However, there is no evidence to support these assertions. Contrarily, Sam Murphy’s YouTube channel was only created in early February and has so far released three videos, all focusing on the British royal family.
For all the reasons stated, Snopes concludes:
“A website that was only 1 week old cited an obscure and recently created YouTube channel whose creator claimed that Zelensky somehow came into the possession of real estate that — at the time of this reporting — remains quite publicly in the hands of the British royal family. For that reason alone, the claim is “False.”
That the page fits the characteristics of pages linked to the Russian IRA is, perhaps, a harbinger of things to come as the 2024 presidential election approaches and foreign support for Ukraine hangs in the balance.”
For the same reason, as well as because of the history of false news about Zelensky’s alleged extravagant lifestyle and that of his wife, the controversial posts receive the rating – “fake news”.
For these reasons, and due to the history of fabricated stories about President Zelensky’s and his wife’s purported extravagant lifestyle, these controversial posts have been rated as ‘fake news’.
The ‘fake news’ rating applies to an original media report (entirely produced by the publishing media) that contains factually incorrect claims or information. Such content is determined to have been created and disseminated with the intent to mislead the public, presenting completely false claims as facts.