A post circulating on social media claims that graffiti calling for the arrest of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appeared in various locations across the state of Georgia, USA.
According to StopFake, a European online platform dedicated to exposing misinformation, pro-Russian sources have recently been spreading these graffiti images online.
These sources’ images show simple graffiti reading “Arrest Zelensky,” allegedly found in multiple locations in Georgia.
However, StopFake analyzed the authenticity of the images using forensic image analysis software.
First, the photo’s location was not Georgia but Washington, D.C. The graffiti was supposedly drawn on walls, including those of a public restroom building in Lafayette Square, north of the White House.
The location was incorrect, and the graffiti itself did not exist.
According to StopFake, unaltered photos should have a consistent texture and color, but when processed through graphic editing software, the analyzed images failed this test, indicating they were manipulated.
Even without specialized software, the manipulation was evident to the naked eye. The post claimed the photos were taken between late February and early March. Yet the trees in the images had green leaves with some yellow ones, suggesting that they were taken around late August or September.
Notably, these images were first posted not in the United States but in Russia.
