This awful picture is shared on social media with caption "a Russian girl tied up as a living shield by Ukrainian soldiers in Mariupol". (I blurred the face.)
What happened? Let's investigate. π1/...
#OSINT π
#Verification πΈ
#GeoLocation π
#HowToOSINT π§
What happened? Let's investigate. π1/...
#OSINT π
#Verification πΈ
#GeoLocation π
#HowToOSINT π§
We take a screenshot of the photo and load it into the Russian search engine Yandex. 2/...
This brings us to a post from 21 March on Zen Yandex.
There we see the same photo π₯ along with six other similar photos.
The Russian caption reads: "The year 2022. Europe. The usual Nazism in Lviv. Now to ethnicity. The photos feature members of the Roma diaspora." 3/...
There we see the same photo π₯ along with six other similar photos.
The Russian caption reads: "The year 2022. Europe. The usual Nazism in Lviv. Now to ethnicity. The photos feature members of the Roma diaspora." 3/...
The same pictures are shared by a Geman journalist from Bild. π
Again is stated this is Lviv and we see Roma. No mention of Mariupol or 'living shields'. 4/...
Again is stated this is Lviv and we see Roma. No mention of Mariupol or 'living shields'. 4/...
https://twitter.com/bjoernstritzel/status/1506261463643656193
However these π are not reliable sources that know the local context. So we search further.
We google with the search terms Lviv, gypsies and treatment. 5/...
We google with the search terms Lviv, gypsies and treatment. 5/...
We find this article from @romeanews, a news medium that focuses on the Roma community.
The article 'Russia distorts photos for propaganda purposes, Roma non-profits warn Ukrainian authorities' shows the photos investigated as illustrations. 6/...
romea.cz/en/news/world/β¦
The article 'Russia distorts photos for propaganda purposes, Roma non-profits warn Ukrainian authorities' shows the photos investigated as illustrations. 6/...
romea.cz/en/news/world/β¦
@romeanews According to the article, the photos show Roma in Lviv. They are allegedly purse-snatchers who were caught looting in Lviv by vigilantes and were then punished and humiliated in this awful way. 7/...
@romeanews According to @romeanews there is "a group in Lviv calling itself 'The Hunters' who prosecute Roma involved in pickpocketing".
Is this group 'The Hunters' responsible for this hatred of Roma? π 8/...
Is this group 'The Hunters' responsible for this hatred of Roma? π 8/...
@romeanews Ukrainian human rights organisation @zminaUkraine wrote about The Hunters in early 2021 when a Roma, suspected of stealing, was forced to crawl on his hands and knees and beaten.
The 'vigilante group' was established in 2018. 9/...
zmina.info/news/u-lvovi-zβ¦
The 'vigilante group' was established in 2018. 9/...
zmina.info/news/u-lvovi-zβ¦
@romeanews @zminaUkraine The public Facebook group The Hunters came online on 23 January 2018.
Even then, Zmina wrote about the phenomenon, which is part of even earlier violence against Roma in the region. 10/...
Even then, Zmina wrote about the phenomenon, which is part of even earlier violence against Roma in the region. 10/...
@romeanews @zminaUkraine The group's administrator, Roksolana Lisovska, posted the photos of the girl in the group on 21 March.
The post contains another photo of the scene in higher quality, which may indicate that members of The Hunters were present. 11/...
The post contains another photo of the scene in higher quality, which may indicate that members of The Hunters were present. 11/...
@romeanews @zminaUkraine A member of The Hunters also shared a news article from the Ukrainian medium Varta1 titled 'In Lviv, hunted and tied to a pole': varta1.com.ua/news/u-lvovi-s⦠12/...
@romeanews @zminaUkraine This article helps us to find the location of the picture.
An intersection north of Lviv in Google Streetview (left) matches with one of the photos (right).
We see the same beverage tent π¨ and the same gas station π₯ in the background. 13/...
An intersection north of Lviv in Google Streetview (left) matches with one of the photos (right).
We see the same beverage tent π¨ and the same gas station π₯ in the background. 13/...
@romeanews @zminaUkraine Not all elements match, as the Streetview photo is from July 2015. The building then under construction is completed on 21 March 2022 π©. The pole to which the girl is tied was not yet there in 2015.
Nonetheless, geolocation β . 14/...
Nonetheless, geolocation β . 14/...
@romeanews @zminaUkraine Back to The Hunters.
Which specific persons are responsible we could not find out, but it seems certain that The Hunters are involved. Why? π 15/...
Which specific persons are responsible we could not find out, but it seems certain that The Hunters are involved. Why? π 15/...
@romeanews @zminaUkraine Not only are they sharing photos we can't find anywhere else, but the group's administrator also posted a short video on 11 March.
It shows five girls and young women with faces and hands painted green again. Some of them are even mentioned by name and date of birth. 16/...
It shows five girls and young women with faces and hands painted green again. Some of them are even mentioned by name and date of birth. 16/...
@romeanews @zminaUkraine One of the girls in the video looks like a girl in the more recent photos.
The zip on her coat in the 21 March photo (left) also matches the 11 March video (right). 17/...
The zip on her coat in the 21 March photo (left) also matches the 11 March video (right). 17/...
@romeanews @zminaUkraine If we compare a photo taken on 21 March (left) with the video taken on 11 March (right) using Microsoft's Azure face recognition software, the software says that both photos show the same person.
The certainty of this is 76.2%. (Again, I blurred faces afterwards.) 18/...
The certainty of this is 76.2%. (Again, I blurred faces afterwards.) 18/...
@romeanews @zminaUkraine So probably that Roma girl fell into the hands of The Hunters before.
The images of these girls are not the only ones circulating, showing a kind of 'public justice' in Ukraine nowadays. 19/...
The images of these girls are not the only ones circulating, showing a kind of 'public justice' in Ukraine nowadays. 19/...
@romeanews @zminaUkraine At the pillories for looters - or in this case, alleged thieves - the hands and faces are more often coloured green.
This is zelyonka, an antiseptic dye that can be removed from the skin only with great difficulty. 20/...
rferl.org/a/ukraine-euroβ¦
This is zelyonka, an antiseptic dye that can be removed from the skin only with great difficulty. 20/...
rferl.org/a/ukraine-euroβ¦
@romeanews @zminaUkraine @ArbiterOfTweets analysed more of this kind of pictures: "In Ukraine citizens are currently being tied to poles and beaten. Moreover, images of this are being fully exploited - and partly misrepresented - by the Russian camp in the info war." 21/...
knack.be/nieuws/europa/β¦
knack.be/nieuws/europa/β¦
@romeanews @zminaUkraine @ArbiterOfTweets The images of 21 March in Lviv also appeared on the Russian state broadcaster RT. The article makes the link with the so-called 'denazification' of Ukraine.
Russia is exploiting this to accuse Ukraine of being run by neo-Nazis. 22/...
Russia is exploiting this to accuse Ukraine of being run by neo-Nazis. 22/...
@romeanews @zminaUkraine @ArbiterOfTweets Conclusion: the photo being circulated does not show 'a Russian girl tied up as a living shield in Mariupol'. ββ
It is a public pillory for alleged thieves in Lviv. According to various sources, they are Roma.
The images are used by Russian propaganda. 23/...
It is a public pillory for alleged thieves in Lviv. According to various sources, they are Roma.
The images are used by Russian propaganda. 23/...
@romeanews @zminaUkraine @ArbiterOfTweets I just reported the Facebookgroup of The Hunters because it spreads violence and in this way is against the policy guidelines of Facebook.
I hope they respond. 24/...
I hope they respond. 24/...
@romeanews @zminaUkraine @ArbiterOfTweets What have we learned? π©βπ«
1) Comparing faces with Azure can help to verify if you see the same person. π
2) For #GeoLocation keep looking for more context. A local news report was crucial in this case. π°
3) Homo homini lupus. π 25/27
1) Comparing faces with Azure can help to verify if you see the same person. π
2) For #GeoLocation keep looking for more context. A local news report was crucial in this case. π°
3) Homo homini lupus. π 25/27
@romeanews @zminaUkraine @ArbiterOfTweets You can read my full article (in Dutch) here (@Knack). π26/27
knack.be/nieuws/factcheβ¦
knack.be/nieuws/factcheβ¦
@romeanews @zminaUkraine @ArbiterOfTweets @Knack Did you learn something from this #OSINT for #FactChecking?
Follow me (@brechtcastel
) and check out my channel on #YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCMBPtβ¦ π
Older π§΅π§΅underneath this tweet:
Follow me (@brechtcastel
) and check out my channel on #YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCMBPtβ¦ π
Older π§΅π§΅underneath this tweet:
https://twitter.com/brechtcastel/status/139068840541619814515/15
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