Video alleged to prove Ukraine war is staged is from film production
The video shows the set of a Ukrainian film shot in Latvia
CLAIM: A video circulating online in recent days showing armed men entering a building while being filmed by a film crew has been used by social media users to prove that the war in Ukraine is staged.
RATING: The video shows the set of a Ukrainian film shot in Latvia and does not prove the war in Ukraine is staged.
BACKGROUND
A video circulating online in recent days showing armed men entering a building while being filmed by a film crew has been used by social media users as proof that the war in Ukraine is staged.
The video was shared by by far-right radio host Stew Peters, who tweeted: “The Ukraine war is like the movie Wag the Dog, but in real life.”
The video was also shared by other Facebook users Rhonda Reding and George Zatorsky, who used the same text as Peters.
Peter’s post drew a lot of attention, with some users seemingly believing the footage showed the video offered proof the war is staged.
METHOD
A reverse image search of the footage led to a news article by Baltic News regarding a Ukrainian film shot in Latvia titled “Nadja” – about the experience of a Ukrainian woman in the war.
A keyword search led to an article by Baltic News about a Ukrainian film shot in Latvia (here). The report says it is based on the story of a woman who gave birth during the war after losing her parents and partner.
“The film is not only about the war, but a real story about a woman, an acquaintance of mine, who lost her parents on the first day of the war. And after a week and a half, her loved one was mobilised into the army as a former soldier. They called each other, everything was fine. But after a couple of weeks, she found out , that she is pregnant. She calls him to tell him, holding the pregnancy test in one hand, the phone in the other, and during the conversation she hears the shooting. And realizes that she has lost him too. This is a true story. She was left alone, expecting a child , she has a mess in her head, not understanding why it’s worth continuing to live, but finds strength, hides in bunkers. Difficult life and trials, but she endures and gives birth. And the girl is named Nadya – Nadezhda – Hope,” said Artjom Kocharyan, a cameraman for for Latvian Television.
Public Broadcasting of Latvia ,Latvijas sabiedriskais medijs, reported on the film’s production, producing a package on the set while interviewing those part of the films.
Comparing the video produced by the Latvian TV at 0:36 and the video shared by Peters at 0:16, we see an explosion on the set. The videos shows the same explosion from different vantage points, indicating that the content is the film production.
One example is an explosion that takes place around timestamp 0:16 in the clip circulating online and 0:36 in the YouTube video. It shows the same cameraman taking a step forward as a bomb detonates.
Artem Kocharyan, the film’s director, shared a clip of the same explosion on it TikTok account, writing: “…backstage”.
From this we can conclude the footage is not from Ukraine and is part of a film production in Latvia.
RATING: The video shows the set of a Ukrainian film shot in Latvia and does not prove the war in Ukraine is staged.
SOURCES
Twitter. (2023). Available at: https://twitter.com/realstewpeters/status/1646935333915729934 [Accessed 21 Apr. 2023].
Twitter. (2023). Available at: https://twitter.com/JamesLy22138881/status/1646940425369026561 [Accessed 21 Apr. 2023].
RUS LSM (2023). В Сигулде прошли завершающие съёмки украинского фильма. YouTube. Available at: Link [Accessed 21 Apr. 2023].
TikTok. (2023). Art_Kocharian on TikTok 4 [Accessed 21 Apr. 2023].
News, B. (2023). A feature film ‘Nadja’ is being made in Latvia about the experience of a Ukrainian woman in the… [online] Baltics News. Available at: https://baltics.news/2023/03/22/a-feature-film-nadja-is-being-made-in-latvia-about-the-experience-of-a-ukrainian-woman-in-the-war/amp/ [Accessed 21 Apr. 2023].
Facebook.com. (2021). Rhonda Reding – The Ukraine war is like the movie Wag the Dog, but… [online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid02QSN8GiTU63ycMUoMCafJ5NMX64J9KyTPMddxzByiTXiJctfo9MTdSZkPimi5cD9xl&id=100053482707185 [Accessed 21 Apr. 2023].
Facebook.com. (2021). George Zatorsky – The Ukraine war is like the movie Wag the Dog,… [online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/george.zatorsky/posts/pfbid02fVPcQqoqUaJpaVwq64zT2hazdTrsc4781PetVoKNtC619tBhzTXNDUV7TFjAwBvJl [Accessed 21 Apr. 2023].