Russian propaganda spreading video fake about Vodafone campaign

A cynical video fake about Ukraine’s Armed Forces suffering heavy losses was created in the style of a Ukrainian telecoms operator

Pro-Kremlin Telegram channels have shared a video claiming that Ukrainian telecoms operator Vodafone has allegedly launched a "Hero's Number" campaign to raise one hundred million dollars for the needs of Ukraine’s Armed Forces. The relatives of the fallen soldiers are offered to buy their phone numbers for $100 in their memory. The video was created in the style of Vodafone as a YouTube short.

This is a fake. There is no such video on Vodafone's YouTube channel or other official resources. It was fabricated using old Vodafone advertising footage.

At the beginning of the fabricated video, a commercial from the company's official Facebook page posted on January 8 of this year is featured.

Next, a shot from a Vodafone commercial that was posted on YouTube a year ago and received 14 million views was used.

Another shot was taken from a commercial posted on the official YouTube channel a year ago.

The video ends with a shot that is easy to find online. It is also from the video from a year ago.

Vodafone representatives also told Ukrinform that the video was a fake.

The main narrative of this fake is the heavy losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as the company allegedly plans to sell one hundred thousand numbers of fallen Ukrainian soldiers as part of this "campaign".

At the end of last month, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky provided an official estimate of AFU losses, stating that 31,000 soldiers had been killed during that time.

Zelensky also refuted the information about the alleged deaths of 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers, which is being spread in Russia.

Earlier, Russian propaganda spread a video fake claiming that since February 24, 2022, Ukraine had lost more than 1.1 million soldiers in action and missing.

Dmytro Badrak