Claim: A video shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dancing.
Fact: The video is altered and does not show Zelenskyy.
On 19 February, an X user posted a video (archive) apparently showing Zelenskyy dancing in a red dress. The caption reads: “Zelenskyy before he became a CIA plant for regime change in Ukraine.”
The caption likely refers to Zelenskyy’s previous acting and comedian career in the entertainment industry before he entered politics.
The Ukrainian President has been a consistent subject of disinformation during the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. In February 2024, DW debunked various claims targeting Zelenskyy – that he bought luxury yachts, and his wife spent nearly 1 million dollars to buy jewellery in New York. In September 2024, Soch Fact Check debunked a similar video of him belly dancing, and concluded that the video was tampered with using AI.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched keyframes from the video and found that fact-check platforms had previously debunked the video.
German investigative newsroom Correctiv fact-checked this video in January 2024 in an article titled “No, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not dancing in this video”. The fact-check found that the video was manipulated and did not actually show the Ukrainian president.
Snopes also fact-checked this video in November 2024 in an article titled “Authentic Video of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy Belly Dancing?” and concluded that the video was a deepfake.
Both fact-checks found that unrelated videos from 2022 and 2020 had been altered to make it look like the Ukrainian President was dancing. However, the original videos did not feature Zelenskyy but an entirely different person. According to Snopes, the video was uploaded by TikTok user “vusaaal” who also “shared numerous videos of this individual doing more dance moves in the same setting, with the same costume in different settings, or wearing variations of the outfit in other contexts.”
Soch Fact Check, therefore, concludes that the video of Zelenskky dancing is manipulated.
Virality
The X post garnered 7.4 million views and was liked 23,000 times.
Donald Trump Jr reposted the video here on X.
The video appeared on Facebook here, here, here, here.
Conclusion: A video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy belly dancing in a red dress is altered.
Background image in cover photo: Reuters
To appeal against our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com