The «news» story spreading online is a fake created as part of a propaganda campaign. The American media The Wall Street Journal did not publish such claims neither on its official website nor on social networks.
A video clip with the logo of The Wall Street Journal is circulating online. It claims that Ukrainian officials associated with the military-industrial complex are allegedly sending their children to study at the most expensive US universities, including Harvard and other Ivy League universities. The video states that since 2022, 1,343 students, whose parents are allegedly involved in the distribution of Western military aid to Ukraine, have entered these universities. The total cost of their education allegedly amounts to almost $500 million.
«It is obvious that the relatives of these students are not accidentally connected to the country’s military-industrial complex. Democrats have been pouring billions of dollars into this area for years,» Penny Schwinn, the US Deputy Secretary of Education, is allegedly quoted in the video.
Yet this video is fake.
First of all, The Wall Street Journal did not publish such a story neither on its website nor on its social media accounts (X, Facebook, YouTube). The video is a montage consisting of footage taken from open sources. In particular, it uses an old photo of Penny Schwinn.
In addition, Penny Schwinn has never made such statements either in the media or on her social networks. The fake video even states her position incorrectly. Although as of January 2025, Schwinn was nominated for the position of Deputy Secretary of Education, her candidacy has not yet been approved by the Senate. In official sources, she appears as a «Deputy Secretary of Education nominee».
The claim about 1,343 students whose parents are allegedly connected to the management of military aid to Ukraine is also unconfirmed. Data on the number of Ukrainian students at Ivy League universities is not officially published, but it is known that hundreds of Ukrainians study at these educational institutions every year. It is very difficult to get into them, but applicants with high academic results and civic activism have a real chance of being admitted. The number voiced in the video seems arbitrary and cannot be verified, which becomes a convenient tool for manipulation.
It is also worth noting that, according to the Osavul project, this video was first published by the propaganda Telegram channel «Odessa Zа Pobedu!», and was afterwards actively shared by pro-Kremlin resources.
The purpose of such fakes is to undermine trust in Ukraine as a bona fide recipient of Western aid and to convince the audience that the Ukrainian elite is supposedly «profiting» from the war by sending their children to study abroad at the expense of partners. Such narratives play on emotions, cause resentment, strengthen anti-war and anti-NATO sentiments, and, ultimately, are aimed at demoralizing support for Ukraine both inside and outside the country.
StopFake previously refuted false information that eight villas belonging to Ukrainian generals burned down in Los Angeles.
