Manipulated US news report falsely links Iron Throne purchase to Ukraine

"In the US, Yegor Kuleba, son of Dmytro Kuleba, former Prime Minister of Ukraine, bought the famous Iron Throne from the TV series 'Game of Thrones' for $1.5 million. This is where the money of American taxpayers that the US gives to Ukraine goes," says one December 4, 2024 X post.

The post contains an apparent 55-second clip from San Antonio, Texas, CBS affiliate KENS 5 reporting on the auction, and includes a slide showing Dmytro and Yegor Kuleba with a caption reading: "Where did the son of Ukraine's former minister of foreign affairs get $1,500,000 for the Iron Throne?"

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Screenshot of a post from X taken December 12, 2024

The same clip has circulated elsewhere on X, TikTok and on news websites. The claim was further amplified by a group of Russian-language Telegram accounts, websites and state-owned Russian media that frequently promote pro-Kremlin disinformation (archived here).

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other government officials are often targeted online with false claims that they spend vast sums of money on expensive goods, including a French hotel, antique automobiles or a luxury yacht. Many posts are part of a pro-Moscow campaign that seeks to undermine Western support for Kyiv and damage confidence in the government as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues.

Similarly, there is no evidence that Kuleba purchased the Iron Throne at auction.

A keyword search on the KENS 5 website reveals that the station ran a story in October 2024 about an auction in which a replica of the iconic throne from the show was sold for just under $1.5 million. However, the story does not mention Kuleba or Ukraine (archived here).

The version of the video circulating online appears to have added a graphic showing Dmytro and Yegor Kuleba along with the banner headline referencing the Ukrainian, neither of which is in the original video.

Natalie Morera, the station's assistant news director, confirmed the video posted online was altered.

"A fake lower third graphic has been added along with the photos of the Ukrainian official and his son," she said in a December 12 email.

"In addition, the beginning of the video is cut off. That's when our anchor says, 'A Game of Thrones fan in Dallas…' and of course, that was edited out."

Dallas-based Heritage Auction sold the throne -- which was a plastic replica "touring throne" prop from the show --  in October for $1.49 million. The same auction included other show memorabilia, including costumes, armor and weapons used by the cast, which netted over $21 million (archived here and here).

A spokesperson for Heritage Auction said it had not released the name of the person who submitted the winning bid and that the altered video posted online was "absolutely false" and "completely fabricated."

There are several versions and "official" replicas of the Iron Throne dotted around the world, including on the island of Lokrum in Croatia, where some scenes in the show were filmed, and at the former Linen Mill Studios in Northern Ireland (archived here and here).

Dmytro Kuleba, who served as Ukraine's foreign minister from March 2020 to September 2024, also denied that his son had bought the throne in a December 3 Instagram post and called it "a clear example of how fakes work" (archived here). He also pointed out the differences between the original and altered news footage.

"Naturally, Yegor didn't buy anything. He is a student in Kyiv, and -- I will tell you a secret -- neither he nor I watched 'Game of Thrones.' Dear fans of the popular show, I apologize," he said in Ukrainian.

AFP has debunked other claims about the war in Ukraine here.