Reality Check Commentary: Wherever Ukraine’s Zelensky Goes, That’s Where He Shops
Russia's disinformation campaign follows Ukraine's president to his visits with Western allies, writes NewsGuard Co-CEO Gordon Crovitz
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Wherever Ukraine’s Zelensky Goes, That’s Where He Shops
Discovering a Method to Russia’s Disinformation Madness
By Gordon Crovitz, NewsGuard Co-CEO
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky this summer attended the G7 meeting in Italy to urge Western governments to use frozen Russian assets to arm his country. Soon after, pro-Russia websites accused him of corruption in purchasing a winery in Tuscany for $81 million from its owner, the musician Sting. It doesn’t seem to matter to the Russians that this claim was easily debunked, with Sting’s family immediately denying any sale.
My colleague McKenzie Sadeghi, NewsGuard’s editor for AI and foreign influence, has noticed a pattern: Pro-Russia outlets have now planted at least nine false claims of Zelensky’s supposed corruption, each timed to the Ukrainian leader’s travels to allies or to debates about new rounds of funding his country’s defense against Russia. Consider:
Note: This Reality Check Commentary includes links to NewsGuard’s Misinformation Fingerprints — a constantly updated catalog of the top false narratives spreading online. To view these links, you must be a paid Reality Check subscriber or have a license to NewsGuard’s Fingerprints.
June 13: Zelensky visits Italy for the G7 summit, where leaders discuss transferring $50 billion in frozen Russian assets to Ukraine.
June 28: Deep fake spread by pro-Russian disinformation sites purporting to be a sales agreement showing that Zelensky acquired Sting's Italian winery on June 28: Misinformation Fingerprint licensee link / Reality Check subscriber link
June 6: Zelensky, accompanied by the Ukrainian first lady, visits France to seek funding for Ukrainian defense.
June 7: Image of a purported invoice for the sale of a Bugatti Tourbillon car, in the name of Olena Zelenska, dated June 7, 2024: Misinformation Fingerprint licensee link / Reality Check subscriber link
March 7: Zelensky meets with British Secretary of State for Defense Grant Shapps to discuss the Ukraine-U.K. alliance.
March 31: Pro-Kremlin sources claim Zelensky purchased English countryside estate from King Charles: Misinformation Fingerprint licensee link / Reality Check subscriber link
Aug. 11, 2023: The Wall Street Journal reports that Egypt scrapped its plan to supply Russia with missiles, and reports that U.S. officials pressed Egypt to arm Ukraine.
Aug. 20, 2023: YouTube video claims Zelensky's family purchased a $5 million mansion in Egypt: Misinformation Fingerprint licensee link / Reality Check subscriber link
Dec. 14, 2023: Zelensky makes surprise visit to Germany.
Dec. 24, 2023: Claim that Zelensky purchased the German villa of Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels for 8 million euros. The fake purchase agreement claims the sale took place months prior on Oct. 11, 2023: Misinformation Fingerprint licensee link / Reality Check subscriber link It was on Oct. 11, 2023, that Germany announced it would send $1 billion to Ukraine.
Nov. 23, 2023: Claim emerges that Zelensky purchased two luxury yachts: Misinformation Fingerprint licensee link / Reality Check subscriber link
Nov. 29, 2023: Claim emerges that the U.S. gave Zelensky a Florida mansion: Misinformation Fingerprint licensee link / Reality Check subscriber link
Dec. 7, 2023: U.S. Senate votes on an aid package that includes funding for Ukraine.
Sept. 23, 2023: Ukraine's first lady meets with Jill Biden in Washington.
Sept. 30, 2023: Pro-Kremlin sources claim Ukraine's first lady spent millions at Cartier in New York: Misinformation Fingerprint licensee link / Reality Check subscriber link
Many of these baseless allegations follow the same disinformation playbook. The provenance of the original false claim — often using AI to create a fake document — is an obscure website, social media account or YouTube channel. The originator of the claim is then cited as an authority by pro-Russian websites, such as the 171 sites created by John Mark Dougan, the fugitive former Florida deputy sheriff who fled to Russia, that purport to be independent local news sites. Then the Kremlin’s official propaganda sites such as RT spread the false claims.
McKenzie’s explanation for the disinformation: “By painting Zelensky as a real estate mogul and corrupt big spender, Russia seeks to erode international support for Ukraine by portraying its leadership as self-serving and misusing taxpayer dollars. These narratives are part of a broader ongoing strategy to weaken the moral and financial support Ukraine receives from its allies. Beyond aiming to damage Zelensky's reputation and credibility, both domestically and internationally, these narratives also distract from Russia's own actions and shift the focus onto alleged misconduct by Ukrainian officials.”
The theme of these claims is simple: Wherever Zelensky goes, he shops. The Russian government must believe that repeating claims of corruption — however easily debunked — creates uncertainty about the Ukrainian leader and whether Western aid is being spent well.
The truth is simpler: Zelensky did not buy Sting’s Italian winery, an English estate from King Charles, a mansion in Egypt, a villa in Germany or two luxury yachts. And the U.S. did not give him a mansion in Florida, and his wife did not buy a Bugatti car or go on a shopping spree at Cartier.
Perhaps seeing the clear pattern of these false claims will help inoculate people from believing the next ones the Russians invent and decide to spread.
Gordon Crovitz is the Co-CEO and Co-Editor-In-Chief of NewsGuard. Previously, he was publisher of The Wall Street Journal.
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