Russian propaganda has begun spreading a false story about a hired actor at the sites of shelling in Ukraine

Russian propaganda is spreading yet another fake story about allegedly staged photos of the aftermath of attacks in Ukraine. To this end, three photos of a man with a small dog were posted online, purportedly taken after shelling in Dnipro, Kyiv, and Rivne. However, two of the images turned out to have been generated using artificial intelligence.

The photos circulating online purportedly show the same man with a dog at the sites of Russian attacks in different cities and at different times. Russian propagandists are using these images to accuse Ukraine of staging the aftermath of the shelling and to claim that the man is a “hired actor.”

In reality, only one of the three photos is genuine—the one from Rivne, released by the police on October 13 following a Russian shelling.

The other two images, which purportedly show a man with a dog at the sites of attacks in Dnipro and Kyiv, are fake. They were created using artificial intelligence.

This has been confirmed by specialized digital content analysis services. Therefore, the claim by Russian propagandists about a “hired actor,” based on these three photographs, lacks proper evidence.

The dissemination of fake photographs is part of a systematic Russian propaganda campaign that attempts to portray the consequences of Russian attacks on Ukraine as staged.

Such disinformation campaigns are aimed, in particular, at foreign audiences. Using fake images, propagandists attempt to cast doubt on the credibility of reports about Russian shelling and create the impression that the consequences are being deliberately exaggerated or fabricated.

In this case, the manipulation is based on combining a real photograph with two images generated by artificial intelligence. This technique was used to promote a false narrative about allegedly staged footage from the sites of Russian attacks.

This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation. 

In addition, Russian propaganda has intensified its disinformation campaign surrounding the tragedy in Bucha, targeting a Western audience. In this way, the enemy is attempting to divert the international community’s attention from the escalating terror against Ukraine’s civilian population. 

FBI Director Kash Patel refuted media reports regarding his alleged visit to Russia on October 14, calling such publications fake.