On April 27, 2023, a Russian-language Facebook account published a photo of former US President Donald Trump and Russian hockey player, captain of the Washington Capitals, Alexander Ovechkin. In the picture, Trump is holding a T-shirt with the image of Vladimir Putin with the following inscription: “Я за Путина” (“I’m pro-Putin”).
The photo of Donald Trump and Alexander Ovechkin disseminated on Facebook is altered. In the original version, the shirt features the inscription OVECHKIN.
In 2019, hockey player Alexander Ovechkin and his wife, Anastasia Ovechkina, were invited to Trump’s Christmas dinner in Florida. Ovechkin gave the President a Washington Capitals T-shirt with his last name – OVECHKIN written on it. In the original photo, Trump is holding this very shirt, and the caption supporting Putin has been added by computer software.
About the source
Russian-language Facebook account Шакал Зеля has disseminated false information in the past as well.
Mariam Gordadze
Myth Detector Lab
The article has been written in the framework of Facebook’s fact-checking program. You can read more about the restrictions that Facebook may impose based on this article via this link. You can find information about appealing or editing our assessment via this link.
Read detailed instructions for editing the article.
Read detailed appeal instructions
