Verification within Meta’s Third-Party Fact-Checking Program
Information was spread online that the musical group The Prodigy posted an Instagram story with a cake in the form of a crab with a Russian flag, as well as the message: “I haven’t watched TV for two years because of the terrible events that are happening in the world. I know that Russia is not an instigator, but a seeker of truth. See you soon“.
However, this is a fake. The Prodigy does not have similar Instagram posts, and the band does not express an official position regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Screenshot of the post
The primary source of this information is the propaganda Telegram channel “Shkvarka 2.0”. The post with the “news” appeared on April 10, 2024. It is known that stories on Instagram are available for 24 hours, if you do not add them to the favorites in the profile. At the time of checking, there are no similar posts on The Prodigy’s official Instagram page. Information about this was spread only by a few Russian Telegram channels.
Since 2022, the band has not made any statements about supporting either Ukraine or Russia. On the band’s social networks, Facebook and Twitter, they only publish information about their work. The Prodigy also did not visit Russia since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, although they performed several concerts in the Russian Federation until 2022.
Such publications from famous artists such as The Prodigy could not go unnoticed. The news about this would probably spread quickly through the social networks of Ukrainians, as well as in the mass media.
For example, in February, the famous singer LP posted a story on Instagram in which she thanked Russian fans for a hoodie with the flag of the Russian Federation. The video instantly caused a flurry of hate toward the singer, and in Lithuania, the concert was canceled. Later, the singer posted a video with an apology and deleted the post.
Previously, we refuted a similar fake, allegedly the American musician Richard Hall (pseudonym — Moby) published a post with a beetle holding the flag of Ukraine and calling for the mobilization of Ukrainians all over the world.
Attention
The authors do not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have no relevant affiliations