Euronews did not publish such a story. Propagandistists generated voiceovers using artificial intelligence, supplemented them with stock footage, and edited them together with a fragment of a real Euronews video
A video with the Euronews television channel logo is spreading online. In it, a reporter from Dubai allegedly claims that the biggest threat facing the city in connection with the Iranian attacks is Ukrainian looters. She says that the police have already detained 19 looters of Ukrainian origin, who, coordinating attacks through WhatsApp groups, began robbing hotels, jewelry stores, and abandoned cars.
However, the channel did not actually publish such a story. We managed to find the original Euronews video clip, in which correspondent Jane Witherspoon talks about the strip in Dubai against the backdrop of Iranian attacks. The journalist clearly does not mention anything about looters of Ukrainian or any other origin. On the contrary, Witherspoon notes that although in some Dubai stores people are queuing for food and water, most residents follow the official government recommendation to stay at home. We also failed to find any credible information about recent cases of looting in Dubai.
In their fake propagandists used stock footage and added a voiceover generated using neural networks that imitates Witherspoon’s voice. We have repeatedly refuted similar fakes. Interestingly, many fake videos — including this one — first appear on the same channel of Russian propagandist Dmitry Kochetkov, “Shaman Rahu” and are later shared on the social networks by both real users and Russian bots.
We have already asked about the news that the property of one of Syrsky’s former deputies was completely burned down in Dubai during the attack and that the Ukrainian ambassador called Iran’s attack on Dubai an act of aggression against Ukraine. Fake reports about Ukrainians supposedly committing crime abroad have long been one of the favorite narratives of Russian propaganda. Read similar refutations in the stories Fake: Ukrainian Gang Stole Chairs from Spanish Restaurants and Fake: Ukrainian Refugee Shot at a Christian Icon in Zurich.
