Since December 12th, 2022, Russian-language Telegram channels have been circulating a screenshot of a post by the satirical outlet Babylon Bee. According to the posts (1,2,3,4), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was spotted sitting on Santa’s lap at a shopping mall and asked Santa for an additional USD 50 billion. On December 12th, the Russian-language news agency Мрия published the post circulated in Telegram in its rubric – “Telegram Review.”
The claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was spotted sitting on Santa’s lap at a shopping mall is satire and was made up by the English-language satirical outlet The Babylon Bee.
According to an article published by the satirical outlet The Babylon Bee on December 12th, Zelenskyy was spotted sitting on Santa’s lap at a shopping mall and asked Santa for an additional USD 50 billion.
The “About Us” section of the website notes that the Babylon Bee publishes satirical, made-up content. However, the posts disseminated on Telegram channels do not indicate the fact that the article is satirical.
False information based on the satirical content of the “Babylon Bee” was fact-checked by the “Myth Detector” in the past as well. See:
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- Does the Pope require vaccination to enter heaven?
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