Video does not show Zelensky bodyguard in New York brawl

"Media: One of #Zelensky's bodyguards brought his chief's visit to the #US to a vibrant conclusion starting a fight in a bar not far from the UN office because the visitors didn't want to shout out after him 'Glory to Ukraine,'" says a September 26, 2023 X post shared by the Russian embassy in South Africa.

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Screenshot of an X post taken October 2, 2023

Similar posts containing the video were shared across the platform, including some in Spanish and French.

Zelensky traveled to New York on September 18 to participate in the 78th General Assembly of the United Nations (UN), urging the Security Council to strip Russia of its veto right.

Ridiculing Zelensky or making it appear as if support for Ukraine is weakening in Western countries has become a recurring trend in the information war that has accompanied Russia's invasion of Ukraine. AFP's teams around the world have debunked claims spread through the imitation of major media brands including CNN, Euronews and Al Jazeera.

But a spokesperson for the NYPD's Deputy Commissioner for Public Information said on September 27 that there is "no police report" about an incident involving a Zelensky security guard.

And a search for the alleged incident on the US city's police website yielded no results.

Not reported by USA Today

The one-minute, three-second video sequence intersperses archival footage of Zelensky, the UN building in New York, the interior of a bar and a late-night street brawl. It carries the USA Today logo in the top right corner.

However, USA Today did not publish any such report, the media company said on its website.

"The video circulating on X using the USA Today logo and branding is fake," a USA Today spokesman told AFP on September 28. He added that the news organization filed "a false information claim with the platform to stop the immediate spread of misinformation."

AFP found font inconsistencies when comparing the video about the brawl to past sequences produced by the network. The letters "i," "g" and "f" are all slightly different.

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Comparison between screenshots of the video on X and a sequence from USA Today, made on September 28, 2023

No incident at The Campbell

The posts place the incident at The Campbell bar. However, Liv Meyers, Digital Marketing Manager of the Gerber Group, which owns the bar, also told AFP on September 27 that the video is fake and that "no incident occurred in or around The Campbell."

The bar is located at 15 Vanderbilt Ave, in the Grand Central Train Terminal in New York, approximately half a mile from the UN headquarters. However, its exterior -- which can be seen here -- does not correspond with the footage.

Seen in the video are several storefront signs, including one for the clothing store SoHo Boutique. A Google search for this name along with the keyword "New York," found the incident was located in Brooklyn, at 1117 Quentin Rd, about 12 miles from The Campbell.

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Comparison between screenshots of a video shared on X and Google Street View, made on September 28, 2023

Other elements in the video, such as a sign for the New York School of Career and Applied Studies (NYSCAS) and an awning with the words "gift depot" also place the recording at this address in Brooklyn.

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Comparison between screenshots of a video shared on X and Google Street View, made on September 28, 2023

AFP found no recent reports of an altercation at this location and the NYPD offered no information on such a fight.

Several coordinated information operations publishing fake articles or impersonating real media to broadcast pro-Russian messages have been uncovered by France, the European Union Disinfo Lab and by Meta (archived here, here and here). Paid advertisements or fake accounts are used to distribute the articles, notably on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and Twitter, as AFP reported.

More of AFP's reporting on false and misleading claims about the Russia-Ukraine war is available here.