A Filipino Facebook (FB) user alarmed netizens when it told them to “stock up on food and water” in a post showing clips of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warning about an upcoming event in November.
It misled people into thinking that the “warning” was about a war. Zelensky was only talking about the presidential elections in the United States in November.
Posted on Aug. 16, the 40-second FB reel shows Zelensky talking about nations awaiting what will happen that month. In the video, the Ukrainian leader said:
“Everyone is waiting for November. Americans are waiting for November, and Europe, Middle East, Indo-Pacific, the whole world is looking to autumn, looking to November. And, truly speaking, Putin awaits November too…. It’s time to step out of the shadows, to make strong decisions work, to act, and not to wait for November or any other month. To this end, we must be strong and uncompromising, all together.”
The misleading video’s text and caption read:
“Mag imbak nang pagkain at tubig. Anong mang yayari sa November? Nakakatakot talaga pag my mga ganitong babala ang mga iba ibang bansa no nako po NoV. Be safe ang lahat (Stock up on food and water. What will happen in November? It’s really scary when there are warnings like these from other countries. Oh no NoV. Be safe everyone).”
The clips were taken from Zelensky’s address during the 75th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Washington Treaty on July 9 where he urged world leaders to back Ukraine against Russia’s offensive now and not wait for the results of the November U.S. election.
His speech was not about an upcoming war that may affect Indo-Pacific countries like the Philippines as comments on the post suggested.
The misleading clips circulated ten days after Ukraine launched a cross-border incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos and Zelensky vowed to strengthen the nations’ diplomatic ties when the latter visited the country in June. Zelensky also thanked the Marcos administration for supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity amid its ongoing conflict with Russia.
The video uploaded by an FB user garnered 28,800 reactions, 5,300 comments, 16,000 shares and 4,000,000 views.
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(Editor's Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)