On April 21, Russian-language Facebook accounts (1, 2) as well as a Telegram user account (1) published a quote by Alexei Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, under the name of the BBC Russian-language service: “A Nobel Prize for me would be the best confirmation that the civilized world remembers Alexei Navalny and his struggle.” The circulated screenshot shows April 17 as the date of publication of the article.
The screenshot with the BBC logo and the quote by Yulia Navalnaya that circulated are fabricated. The BBC did publish an article about Navalnaya, but in the original version, she does not talk about the Nobel Prize. In the article she says that she is going to fight against Putin.
The BBC Russian-language service published the article about Yulia Navalnaya on April 17, which is based on Navalnaya’s interview with TIME magazine. Navalnaya was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME and Navalnaya gave the publication her first interview since her husband’s death.
The material published by the BBC, whose visual appearance and date of publication (17 April) are identical to the circulated screenshot, indicates that this is Navalnaya’s first interview after the death of her husband. Neither in the title of the article nor in the text does Navalnaya mention the Nobel Prize. She talks about Alexei Navalny’s death and her plans for the future. She says that she will continue her husband’s work and fight against Putin.
Myth Detector has in the past verified fake information spread under the BBC’s logo. Read more at the links below:
- A FRAUDULENT MONEY-MAKING SCHEME USING A WHATSAPP BOT IS BEING SPREAD FROM A FAKE BBC WEBSITE
- MISINFORMATION IS BEING SPREAD IN THE NAME OF THE BBC ABOUT THE LINK BETWEEN EXCESS DEATHS AND VACCINES
- FABRICATED QUOTE BY ZELENSKYY DISSEMINATED IN THE NAME OF THE BBC
- THE SHOT FROM THE BBC VIDEO SHOWING A UKRAINIAN SERVICEMAN WEARING A NAZI CHEVRON IS FAKE
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