DISINFO: The translator of the Ukrainian delegation to Istanbul fled from Turkey
SUMMARY
CNN Türk journalists revealed the secret behind the Ukrainian delegation's failure to use an interpreter during the negotiations in Istanbul. Local correspondents reported that delegation member Oleg Golovko, who was supposed to translate what the Russian negotiators were saying to the Ukrainian delegation, fled Turkey before the meeting began.
According to Turkish media, Golovko left the country by land. To mislead his pursuers, he did not leave the capital Ankara by plane, but instead rented a car and crossed into Bulgaria. He subsequently disappeared in Europe. The TV channel reported that Oleg Golovko had been part of Defense Minister Rustem Umerov's team since 2023.
RESPONSE
Fabricated falsehood using the 'Doppelganger' or 'False facade' technique. Despite the abundance of details seemingly intended to make this ‘information’ appear credible, and the significant number of media outlets referencing it, the news is entirely fabricated.
Pro-Kremlin disinformation outlets have cited ‘CNN Türk’ as the primary source of the information. However, Vot Tak contacted a news producer at CNN Türk, who confirmed that the channel did not release such material.
A video bearing the CNN Türk logo was broadcast in disinformation reports to support the false claim. However, the video contains a subtle error: the background beneath the logo is black, whereas authentic CNN Türk videos use a transparent background. Two CNN Türk employees confirmed to Vot Tak that the video clip in question was not produced by their channel.
According to the official Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation (CPD), this is not the first time that pro-Kremlin propaganda has spread disinformation about the disappearance of members of Ukrainian delegations abroad, in particular translators. For example, in January, pro-Kremlin sources spread a fake video alleging that 12 members of various Ukrainian delegations abroad had escaped. Another disinformation claiming that the assistant translator of the Ukrainian delegation had disappeared was also spread in March following the Jeddah talks.
According to the CPD, the purpose of such attacks is to discredit Ukraine on the international stage, as well as to reduce trust in the Ukrainian authorities within the country and undermine Ukraine's diplomatic efforts to achieve peace.
This is also not the first time that pro-Kremlin outlets disguise their false claims as real news from reputable international publications. This is a disinformation technique called Doppelganger (German for "double"). The Kremlin uses almost complete clones of reputable Western media outlets to spread its propaganda to foreign audiences.
Previously, copies of such well-known US media as The Washington Post and Fox News, as well as German Der Spiegel, Die Welt and Süddeutsche Zeitung have been forged, Vot Tak reminds. Sometimes, quoted Western media outlets are simply invented by pro-Kremlin media, such as Seattle Tribune or Vérité Cachée.
See a previous Doppelganger fabrication aimed at discrediting the French election.