FACT CHECK: Post Claims Zelenskyy’s Wife Bought A Bugatti In Paris
A video shared on X claims Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy’s wife, Olena Zelenska, bought a Bugatti in Paris, France.
🚨🤣🇺🇦Zelesnky’s wife Olena just spent 4.5 million euros of your tax payer money on a brand new Bugatti Turbillon (1 out of 250) in France.
💰An employee of the Bugatti dealership in Paris by the name of Jacques Bertin revealed that the Zelensky’s made this purchase whilst… pic.twitter.com/irrbeRgcAw
— Aussie Cossack (@aussiecossack) July 1, 2024
Verdict: False
There is no evidence for this claim. The story originates from a fake news website.
Fact Check:
Social media users have been sharing claims that Zelenskyy’s wife bought a Bugatti using taxpayer money. The video shows an alleged Bugatti dealership employee detailing the allegation. (RELATED: Joe Biden Falsely Claims Zero Troops Died Abroad During His Presidency)
There is no evidence for this claim. If Zelenska had done so, media outlets would have covered it, yet none have. Instead, several websites have said the claim is false, including Newsweek.
The Center for Countering Disinformation, which is part of the Ukrainian government, denied the story in July 1 X thread.
❗️russian propaganda sources spread a fake about Olena Zelenska’s alleged purchase of a Bugatti Tourbillon for 4.5 million euros. pic.twitter.com/sOOFC0yn61
— Center for Countering Disinformation (@CforCD) July 1, 2024
“The original source of this fake was the French publication ‘Verite Cachee,’ which was created just 9 days ago, on June 22, 2024. The website contains articles covering the war against Ukraine from the russian perspective,” the Center for Countering Disinformation tweeted.
The video also appears to be generated by artificial intelligence, according to the center.
BBC Verify reporter Shayan Sardarizadeh said that the story was from the “same network of fake news websites” that the outlet has been “investigating for months.”
Yes, I’ve seen the fake Olena Zelenska Bugatti purchase story. It’s the work of the same network of fake news websites run by a former Florida cop that we’ve been investigating for months. I’m writing a detailed debunk thread.
But first, listen to our podcast about the network. https://t.co/sGqCiG8XJ6
— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) July 2, 2024
“Yes, I’ve seen the fake Olena Zelenska Bugatti purchase story. It’s the work of the same network of fake news websites run by a former Florida cop that we’ve been investigating for months…” Sardarizadeh tweeted.
Verite Cachee appears to have instructions on how to generate fake news stories, according to Kyle Glen of the Center for Information Resilience.
The operators of the website are so lazy that they haven’t even removed the instructions from their Russian handlers. This is at the top of an article about a new drone used by Ukraine. It tells them what is “good” (Trump, Russia) and what is bad (war in Ukraine, pharma) pic.twitter.com/1el8CLiMxr
— Kyle Glen (@KyleJGlen) July 1, 2024
“The operators of the website are so lazy that they haven’t even removed the instructions from their Russian handlers. This is at the top of an article about a new drone used by Ukraine. It tells them what is ‘good’ (Trump, Russia) and what is bad (war in Ukraine, pharma),” Glen tweeted.
