Russian propaganda spreads fake covers of world publications. This time it is an alleged new cover of Ananda Vikatan Indian magazine, which depicts Elijah Wood and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Why these public figures were chosen, and does such a cover exist? Read our fact-checking material.
What happened?
The pro-Russian Telegram channel “UKR LEAKS” shared an image of the alleged new cover of Ananda Vikatan Indian publication. It depicts a character similar to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is being urged by The Lord of the Rings character.
“No ring can hide the obvious truth,” reads the cover description.
Moreover, the propagandists note that earlier, the actor Elijah Wood, who played the leading role in The Lord of the Rings movie and is depicted in the caricature, published a video message to the President of Ukraine.
“Earlier, actor Elijah Wood publicly advised Zelenskyy to be treated for drug addiction and alcoholism. And even gave the clinic’s address,” writes the UKR LEAKS Telegram channel.
Analysis
Fake newsmakers state that this cover was published on August 2, 2023, by Special Issue #98.
We have found out that the official website of the Indian edition of Ananda Vikatan has indeed released a new issue on August 2, 2023, under the number 98. However, its cover has an entirely different look.
Moreover, the propagandists note that the fake cover is related to the video where The Lord of the Rings actor addresses the Ukrainian President. “UKR LEAKS” Telegram channel refers to a video allegedly made by Elijah Wood, which they published on their page on July 21, 2023.
“Hello, Volodymyr. You have serious problems with alcohol and drugs. I hope you are taking care of yourself. We have people here who can help you.”
To begin with, the video of Elijah Wood’s speech shows the logo of the American media outlet TMZ, which publishes news about the celebrities.
However, the official website does not mention the actor’s video appeal to Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In an interview with the American edition of Vanity Fair, Elijah Wood said that he has an Instagram page that is not public.
Elijah Wood’s only official social media account is Twitter. Note that it does not contain such an appeal.
Moreover, we found out the full name of the page of the author who allegedly distributed the video – elijah.wood.kingring.
A screenshot from the video shows that the elijah.wood.kingring account has 1,5 million followers.
However, elijah.wood.kingring‘s Instagram page has no posts or followers. The account has only three users, followed by the author, including Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Moreover, the user name is listed as “Mark.”
Note that the QR code shown in the propaganda video leads to the newly created “OLYMPICS HAS FALLEN” Telegram channel.
Conclusion: the cover is fake
by Viktoriia Horak, Yuliana Topolnyk
Also read Fake: Handelsblatt Cover Mocks Zelenskyy’s Desire to Join NATO
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