fact finder
Posts on social media claim that job centers are financing the purchase of cars for Ukrainian refugees. A used car dealer is named as a key witness – but he now speaks of a “misunderstanding”.
“Ukrainians in Germany get a car as a gift from the job center” – that’s what a car dealer near Bremen claims in a TikTok video that is no longer available. A Ukrainian refugee instructed him to issue the invoice for a purchased car to the job center of the district in which he lives and the authority paid it.
The alleged evidence: a bank statement according to which 1,650 euros were transferred from the “Federal Employment Service House” for a “VW Passat car”. “Throw away your German ID card – come back here and say that you fled Ukraine,” was the car dealer’s advice.
District denied
The affected district of Rotenburg (Wümme) denies the incident: “We cannot confirm this claim after thorough examination. The district’s job center did not pay for this car,” explained spokeswoman Christine Huchzermeier to the ARD fact finder. Accordingly, there was no transfer to the car dealership, as stated in the video.
The information on the car dealer’s alleged bank statement does not support his statement.
Alleged evidence full of contradictions
There are already contradictions in the bank statement presented as alleged evidence: According to the video, the car was purchased on April 24th. However, the paper presented by the dealer, according to which the amount has already been transferred, was printed on the same day and states an invoice dated August 30, 2022 as the purpose of the transfer.
Just one “Misunderstanding”?
Compared to the ARD fact finder The dealer explained: “There was a misunderstanding with the video, which is why the video was deleted.” (sic!) However, it is still available online because it is adopted and distributed by many accounts. On one YouTube channel alone, which is notorious for conspiracy myths, an edited form was viewed almost 200,000 times – and triggered numerous hate comments.
There are always rumors about Ukrainian refugees and the benefits they allegedly receive or abuse. It was claimed that they were given priority for dental treatment or that they commuted back and forth between Ukraine and Germany – a statement that is currently being made again.
Russia in particular is trying to stir up sentiment by amplifying false claims about Ukrainian refugees. For example, pro-Russian channels had linked the payments for Ukrainian refugees to the cuts to farmers that sparked the farmers’ protests earlier this year.