The video circulating under the Reuters logo and shared across multiple pages is a fabrication. It adds fictional claims that Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, had “published personal data of IOC members” to an authentic news segment. In reality, Budanov has posted no such content on Facebook or any other public platform. These fakes are part of a broader effort to discredit Ukraine and its officials, casting the country as extremist and anti-democratic.
Social media users and pro-Russian outlets circulated a video claiming that Kyrylo Budanov had publicly released the addresses and contact information of International Olympic Committee members following the disqualification of Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych. The English-language clip was falsely presented as a Reuters report. Posts alleged that Budanov had “deanonymized” IOC members and called for reprisals after the organization barred the athlete from competing over his helmet.
In reality, both the claim and the purported Reuters report are entirely fabricated. The online clip is a textbook example of a forged doppelganger video — a format commonly used in Russian disinformation campaigns. Reuters has never published any story suggesting that Kyrylo Budanov released the personal data of International Olympic Committee members.
The authentic Reuters report, published on February 13, 2026, was titled Heraskevych appeals Olympic ban in hopes of new ‘Miracle on Ice’. While the manipulated video used identical footage, the original segment focused entirely on Heraskevych’s preparation to qualify for the Winter Olympics in Milan and his hope for another “miracle on ice” that would allow him to compete despite the IOC ban on his helmet, which honored Ukrainian athletes killed in the war. The genuine clip concludes with close-ups of the “Helmet of Memory” and footage from his press conference, with no mention of Kyrylo Budanov or the IOC members’ personal information.
In the fabricated version, the second half of the clip was completely changed and re-edited to insert false claims that Kyrylo Budanov had “published” IOC members’ personal information, accompanied by imagery referencing Ukrainian military units. A Reuters logo was added to the upper-right corner to lend the video an air of credibility.
Moreover, Kyrylo Budanov’s official Facebook page contains no posts sharing IOC members’ contact information or making any statements resembling those in the fabricated narrative. Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation has also officially refuted the claim.
It should be noted that Vladyslav Heraskevych wore a helmet during training at the 2026 Winter Olympics displaying images of 22 Ukrainian athletes killed in the Russia–Ukraine war. The International Olympic Committee requested that he not compete with that helmet, proposing instead that he wear a black ribbon during his runs. After he declined, Heraskevych was disqualified and removed from the competition shortly before the first heat.
Thus, Russian propaganda continues to circulate forged content masquerading as reporting from major international media outlets, aiming to discredit Ukraine and portray it as an anti-democratic “Nazi state” that supposedly violates human rights. Earlier, StopFake also debunked similar fake claims in its reporting including Fake: Ukrainian Athlete Vladislav Heraskevych’s Helmet Bears Terrorist Symbols and Portraits of Military Personnel, Fake: Italy Blocked Zelensky Video Appeal at Winter Games and Fake: Kyiv Forcibly Drafts Ethnic Hungarians — InfoBRICS.
