On January 29, a Georgian-language Facebook account published a photo of a pink tank. According to the Russian-language caption of the photo, European feminists raised money and bought a tank for Ukraine, which they painted pink because green was too offensive, and chopped off the barrel of the tank because it looked sexist.
Identical information in Russian has appeared on various social networks since January 22nd, 2023 (1, 2, 3, 4).
The photo of the pink tank used in the circulated post was taken at the Manchester Pride in 2007 and has no connection with Ukraine. Information about the purchase of a pink tank for Ukraine by European feminists cannot be found in open sources.
The viral post contains elements of photo manipulation. The pink tank was photographed at Manchester Pride in 2007, where a transgender charity called Sparkle came out with a pink tank.
A number of Flickr users published photos of the pink tank from different angles on the platform on the same day.
The caption about European feminists purchasing a pink tank for Ukraine is most likely satirical. Information about the event cannot be found in open sources and reliable media. The claim is published only on Russian-language forums and social networks without indicating the source. The mentioned text can be found on the Internet since January 22nd, the author of which is a user of various Russian-language social networks named Дорогая Хурма (expensive_hurma), who published the mentioned text on Telegram, Vkontakte and several forums without indicating any source. A number of photos of pink tanks were posted in the comments section of the pots published on Telegram. Later, the text appeared on the forums along with a photo of a pink tank.
The Vkontakte profile of Дорогая Хурма indicates that they are an imaginary friend of Dmitry Medvedev and a defender of Kremlin interests.
The photo of a pink tank has been used to spread disinformation and homophobic messages in the past as well. In February 2022, a photo of a pink tank with Pride flags from Brighton Pride was circulated with a false description, as if the EU had given Ukraine an LG-BTR. See more:
About the Source
Nona Sharabidze, the Georgian-language Facebook user that has disseminated the photo on Facebook, is a regular amplifier of disinformation. False and manipulative claims voiced by this user have been fact-checked by “Myth Detector” in the past as well. For more details, see:
- Did the Resident of Zhytomyr Fall Victim to the Dismantling of the Bust of Pushkin?
- Who questions the shelling of apartment buildings by the Russian aviation?
- The Anatomy of Rockefeller and Rothschild Conspiracy Theories
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
