On September 22, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Canada, where he gave a speech in Canada’s House of Commons and later in Toronto.
The Ukrainian President’s visit and speech attracted considerable national and international media attention. However, the presence of an individual who allegedly was a member of the German Waffen SS in the gallery of the House of Commons, and the acknowledgement of him by the Speaker of the House, Anthony Rota, has since overshadowed President Zelensky’s visit and address.
The presence of this individual at Zelensky’s address coincidentally aligns with Russian government narratives about Ukrainians and Canadians of Ukrainian heritage. The situation has also been extensively exploited by Russian information operations to divide Canadians, as the Russian government has repeatedly done using other sensitive social and racial issues, and to deflect attention away from Russia’s ongoing criminal war against Ukraine.
Grotesque cartoons, depicting President Zelensky, Prime Minister Trudeau, and Deputy Prime Minister Freeland giving Nazi salutes have been aggressively promoted by Russian diplomatic channels on social media.
Russian propagandists also fabricated an image of the individual who was present in the House of Commons with the false claim that Ukraine’s Postal Service had issued a stamp to honor him. InfoWatch reached out to the Ukrainian Embassy in Canada and the Ukrainian Postal Service about the stamp. Both confirmed that the stamp and image were fake. Ukraine’s Postal Service had not issued this stamp.
Several Russian government accounts promoted this fake image, which was viewed tens of thousands of times before it was removed.
This fake image and tweet demonstrate how the Russian government exploits sensitive and potentially polarizing situations in the Western world. All elected officials and media should be alert to the information manipulation and influence operations of official Russian government representatives and those who are ideologically aligned with the Kremlin.
