The Russian Embassy in Kenya has dismissed the claim.
This video on TikTok supposedly of Russian President Vladmir Putin addressing the June 2024 anti-Finance Bill protests in Kenya is ALTERED.
The video depicts Putin making what appears to be a public address where he allegedly says he is proud of the Kenyan youth for demonstrating against the 2024 Finance Bill and promises to help them in whatever way they need.
The video further claims that Putin urged the Kenyan youth to pick a spokesperson who can engage him through the Russian Embassy in Nairobi.
The video was accompanied by a text reading: “Kwisha (It’s over)! support from Russia, #rejectfinancebill. Tuitishe nini, alafu spokesman atakuwa nani (What should we ask for, and who will be the spokesperson)?”
The clip was shared on 22 June 2024 days after Kenyans, predominantly the youth (Gen Z), took to the streets to protest against the 2024 Finance Bill.
But is the video authentic?
Google reverse image search on a screengrab from the clip, led PesaCheck to similar videos published by Sky News and CNA on 9 May 2023, which precedes the June 2024 anti-Finance Bill protests in Kenya.
According to the publications, Putin was speaking during the country’s annual victory parade, where he said Russia’s military would be victorious in Ukraine, amid the ongoing conflict.
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Using Google Translate, PesaCheck confirmed that Putin was referring to the Russia-Ukraine war. He stated that Russia would protect the residents of Donbass, a region in Eastern Ukraine, parts of which are occupied by Russia.
Further, the Russian Embassy in Kenya disowned the claim, noting that it was altered by adding a fake voice-over.
“We have noticed that a fake video of the President of Russia has been circulating in Kenyan social media. Completely fake voice-over and captions were added over real footage of a past address by the Russian President. Beware of misinformation,” The Russian Embassy in Kenya said.
https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?type=text%2Fhtml&key=a19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07&schema=twitter&url=https%3A//x.com/russembkenya/status/1808773118242271506&image=
PesaCheck examined a video on TikTok supposedly of Russian President Vladimir Putin addressing the June 2024 anti-Finance Bill protests in Kenya and found it to be ALTERED.
This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.
By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.
Have you spotted what you think is fake or false information on Facebook? Here’s how you can report. And, here’s more information on PesaCheck’s methodology for fact-checking questionable content.
This fact-check was written by PesaCheck fact-checker Rodgers Omondi and edited by PesaCheck senior copy editor Mary Mutisya and chief copy editor Stephen Ndegwa.
The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck managing editor Doreen Wainainah.