On October 27, 2023, an anonymous Russian-language Facebook account published a screenshot of one of the articles of the Russian-language service of the German international broadcaster – “Deutsche Welle.” The screenshot of the alleged article also shows a photo of four newborns and the following headlines: “Ukrainians in Germany started having children with Arabs and did not wait for their husbands to return from the front.” According to the article, Ukrainian refugees have children from Turks and Arabs in order to obtain German citizenship. According to the article, pregnant Ukrainians demand free medical care in maternity hospitals. The author of the article is Elena Dozhina, and the date of publication is May 31, 2023.
The screenshot of the article published under the name of “Deutsche Welle” is fabricated. The authentic article by Elena Dozhina refers to the improvement of the demographic situation in Germany, and Ukrainian refugees are not mentioned in the context given in the fabricated version.
On May 31, 2023, an article on the current demographic situation in Germany was published on the website of the Russian language service of Deutsche Welle. In the headline of the article we read: “The demographic situation in Germany has improved”. The author of the article is Elena Dozhina, and her last name is mentioned in the fabricated version of the article as well. A number of articles authored by the journalist can be found on the website, but none of them have the same title or content as the fabricated version about Ukrainian refugees.
The authentic article discusses the demographic situation in Germany, where the share of children has increased significantly. Ukrainian refugees are also mentioned in the article, although in a different context. After the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany received more than a million Ukrainians, and a significant number of them were Ukrainian children. However, according to the article, Ukrainian refugees are not included in the data published by the German Federal Statistical Office.
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| Authentic article from the website of the Russian language service of Deutsche Welle | Fabricated Article |
The information about Ukrainian refugees mentioned in the fabricated article cannot be found in other media outlets either.
Notably, “Myth Detector” has verified a fabricated article under the name of “Deutsche Welle” in the past as well. For more information, see:
About the Source
The Facebook account Oleg Dor often publishes posts with pro-Russian and anti-Western content. The user has disseminated disinformation in the past as well.
Prepared by Oksana Akhmedova
Myth Detector Lab
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