Russian video fake: how social media is trying to discredit the new Minister of Environmental Protection Svitlana Hrynchuk

On September 5, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved the appointment of Svitlana Hrynchuk as Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine. Almost immediately, fake news about her began circulating on trash websites and Facebook pages. 

One of these newly created video fakes shows an unknown woman drinking something from a bracelet on her wrist and dancing at the “First Bell” of school (first day of school in Ukraine-ed.). This woman is allegedly Svitlana Hrynchuk. 

“On September 2, she gets drunk at a school assembly, and on September 5, she’s appointed minister. That’s how you do it! THE ZELENSKYY ELEVATOR,” write the fake-makers. 

In reality, the video has nothing to do with Hrynchuk or Ukraine. It actually features russians.

The video was uploaded to the TikTok account “takataka301 Tetyana Larina” on September 4 and has since garnered nearly 10 million views. The account is run by someone of russian descent, possibly living in Latvia, as all the videos posted have Soviet-russian themes.

Upon closer inspection, the parents in the video are holding packages labeled “first-grader’s kit” (in russian-ed.).

We investigated and identified this product; its full name is “First-grader’s kit No.1 Shustriki School,” and it’s manufactured in the so-called russia  

We also found the barcode for this product on an office supply website. The barcode on the packaging, starting with the digits 468, confirms this, as russian products typically use barcodes starting with 460-469.

Unfortunately, many Ukrainian social media users fail to notice these small, but telling details and are easily misled by russian disinformation, especially when it aligns with their political biases