The Ukrainian-Russian conflict extends to all areas. If the fighting rages on the battlefield, it also intensifies on the field of communication. Video clips, social networks, press conferences… All the media are good for tilting public opinion in your favor.
False information is multiplying, sometimes (often) planned and disseminated by the belligerents themselves, even if it means doing it in a crude way… For several days, Internet users have been accusing kyiv of organizing professional filming featuring extras to make people believe to scenes of panic in Ukraine.
To support their words, they share a video showing very clearly a scene worthy of a movie set. Cameras, director, technical team and dozens of actors just waiting for the fateful “action” to start running and screaming to mimic a panic that would be due to attacks by Russian troops.
Proof of media manipulation orchestrated by Volodymyr Zelensky and his staff? No, and 20 minutes explains why.
FAKE OFF
The charges brought by this video are not new to the conflict in Ukraine. By looking for her on various social networks (mainly Twitter and Telegram), we find her linked to the general staff of kyiv since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February. What is new is the enthusiasm it has been arousing for a few days. Some Internet users even suggest that actor and director Sean Penn, known for his political commitment, would be at the helm with his entire team.
First elements raise doubts about the location of the video. On the first images, we can quite clearly distinguish the presence of a flag of the United Kingdom, the Union Jack, at the top left. Similarly, the members of the film crew speak to the extras in English.
Filming a sci-fi film in England
So, to get to the bottom of it, we did a reverse image search on Google. After dismissing all the rumors spread around this video on the Internet, we were able to trace its origin.
The video is on the YouTube site, it is titled “Invasion Planet Earth BTS run for your life Birmingham”. A film titled “Invasion Planet Earth”, directed by Simon Cox, was released in 2019. Several British media confirm that the film was, in large part, birmingham city tour United Kingdom.
Data that can be verified quite easily by taking a short tour of Birmingham… via Google street view. Looking for the tallest buildings in the city, like the one seen on the left in the video, you can recognize the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery pretty quickly. We also recognize Victoria Square where the scene shared on social networks was filmed. We see in particular the streetlights made up of four round bulbs and the columns of the museum.
To remove all doubts, it is also possible to view the movie trailer. Luckily, the panic scene is there. In a scene of attacks on the inhabitants by aliens, we find the museum in the background and several of the extras visible on the video, such as this “runner” in a white cap and black sweater on a white T-shirt for example.
This type of infox is legion on social networks, so when in doubt, a quick analysis of the images and a reverse search (via Google images) often makes it possible to question the words and contexts associated with them.