Screenshot purporting to show CNN tweet claiming that child soldiers are fighting in eastern Ukraine is digitally altered
Spokesperson for CNN confirmed to Reuters that no such tweet was published by the outlet.
(Reuters) A screenshot purporting to show a CNN tweet reporting on child soldiers fighting Russian forces in eastern Ukraine is digitally altered and was not posted by the outlet.
The image shows a tweet which appears to have been sent on April 11, 2022, by CNN’s Twitter account (@CNN) and reads: “As fighting intensifies in Eastern Ukraine, brave children sign up to fight the Russian invaders. We spoke to one girl, named Olga from Zaporizhzhia, aged 12, who tells her story of taking up arms to fight invading Russian troops.”
The supposed tweet appeared to have gathered 3,700 likes, 186 retweets and 29 quote tweets.
One user shared the image on Instagram and said: “Using child soldiers is now ok according to the western media…” ( here).
Other examples of the image shared online can be seen ( archive.ph/wip/VQYM4 ), ( here ), ( here ), (archive.ph/wip/aMJue), ( archive.ph/wip/wXAj3 ) and ( archive.ph/wip/4wLp4 ).
A spokesperson for CNN confirmed to Reuters that no such tweet was published by the outlet.
A Twitter advanced search did not reveal any such tweet posted by CNN’s Twitter page (@CNN) ( bit.ly/3vjYrSm ).
Likewise, a Google advanced search did not reveal any news article or content pertaining to the alleged CNN tweet (archive.ph/wip/sics6 ).
If a tweet has been deleted, a notice of a deleted tweet is viewable with replies to the tweet underneath. Reuters found no such notice on April 11, 2022, related to CNN’s Twitter account.
A reverse image search showed that the image associated with the fake tweet was published in an article by The Times in August 2018, with a caption that reads: “A team leader barks instructions at the ultra-nationalistic Azovets children’s camp in Ukraine” ( here ).
The image of the fake tweet is an example of ‘imposter content’ which is imagery, video or audio that impersonates a legitimate organization such as a news outlet ( here ).
Reuters previously addressed a fake video circulating online which appeared to be a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) report criticizing Ukraine for “fake news” and for concealing its involvement in a deadly attack. The BBC did not publish any such clip.
VERDICT
Altered. CNN did not publish a tweet claiming that children had signed up to fight Russian forces in eastern Ukraine. The tweet is an example of ‘imposter content’, which is content that impersonates a legitimate news source.
