The “AntiFake” program on Russian state television promises to debunk alleged false reports from the western media. But instead, real fakes are fabricated here. But the creators put very little effort into this – some of them are ridiculously bad.
“AntiFake” is the meaningful name of a little-known but no less curious program on the Russian state broadcaster Pervyj Kanal. The declared aim: to unmask fakes that are put into the world by the Americans, Ukrainians, Poles, Latvians, Germans and simply everyone who, unlike Vladimir Putin, does not want to see Ukraine reduced to rubble and ashes.
In the last Friday issue we went to Munich, among other places – to visit a certain Julia. Ukrainian trolls spread the rumor that she had been deported from Germany. Julia is no stranger. A few months ago, she hit the headlines in this country when she followed and insulted Ukrainian refugees through Salzburg, Austria. She filmed herself and shared the video online. The hotel booking portal Booking.com then canceled all of her reservations and blocked her account. Which was a welcome excuse for Kremlin propagandists to foam at the mouth.
Now Julia was presented to the audience again – as Julia Tschernyschova. In Germany, however, she is registered under a different surname. This time the alleged blogger sat in her alleged Munich apartment, the hood of her jacket pulled over her head. Because the heating boiler had not yet warmed up, she explained her appearance when asked by the moderator. The hearts of the studio guests literally opened up at these words. Grinning happily, they listened to Europe freeze. The fact that Russian pensioners must at the same time hope to get at least firewood to survive the winter in return for their mobilized sons and grandchildren is irrelevant. The main thing is that Europe is freezing.
And Julia did her best to paint the picture of freezing innocence. “Nobody runs the boiler all night here. But it’ll be normal in a few hours,” she said, her face framed in faux fur. The glee in the studio seethed at these words.
After all, the spectators in the endless expanses of Russia will not know that the temperature in Munich was 18 degrees last Friday. And apparently also not that the Cyrillic script is not exactly state of the art in Germany. So the propagandists presented not just a freezing Juliet, but a whole camp of Ukrainian refugees huddled around a pot of hot soup.
“In the beginning, the Germans were very happy about Ukrainian refugees,” said the moderator while the sad pictures were unwound. But now the mood is changing, the Germans have had enough of sanctions. The freezing Julia studiously agreed with him.
But strangely enough, the Ukrainian refugees are gathering under a billboard advertising a motel in the Russian town of Opochka, in the Pskov region. In the background you can also see the lettering of a gas station from Surgutneftegaz, one of the largest gas and oil production groups in Russia with headquarters in Surgut, Siberia. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a billboard or a gas station – the lettering is in Cyrillic everywhere, without exception.
Incidentally, the Ukrainian refugees scoop their meager soup using an empty can of mayonnaise made by a manufacturer from Pskov. Where can you find such a scenery in Germany? Only the fake news producers of “AntiFake” can answer this question.
And Julia? It’s actually located somewhere in Germany. However, it is not the 18-degree cold autumn in Munich that she has to fear, but the German criminal prosecution. According to the public prosecutor’s office in Landshut, there are several reports against Julia P. It is determined because of insult and the initial suspicion of approving criminal offenses. The suspicion that the Russian could be illegally staying in Germany is also being investigated.
The question remains: What is Julia still doing in cold Germany instead of warming up under Putin’s warm wings? But no. Julia prefers to give tips on Tiktok on how to support the regime in Moscow from Europe. Her idea: turn on the lights everywhere and turn on the stove. But it never occurred to her to turn up the heating.