A video shared on Twitter claims to show Ukrainian billionaire Ihor Kolomoisky wearing a shirt with the words “Zhido-Bandera” which means “Jewish-Banderite.”
Sceptical about the affinity between Zionism and Ukrainian nationalism today?
Can your scepticism survive smiling oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky in his “Zhido-Bandera” (“Jewish-Banderite”) t-shirt?
He funded Zelensky, Azov and the extreme Chabad sect.
He now lives in Israel. pic.twitter.com/ZtCD9QzRCU
— David Miller (@Tracking_Power) July 17, 2023
Verdict: False
The image has been altered. The original image shows a plain black shirt.
Fact Check:
Social media users have been claiming to show a Ukrainian billionaire wearing a shirt with the words “Zhido-Bandera.” The tweet has received over 100,000 views and more than 850 retweets as of publishing time.
This claim, however, is false. Through a reverse image search, Check Your Fact found that the image shows Kolomoisky wearing a plain black shirt with no symbols visible anywhere. The image has been circulating since 2012.
The altered image appeared in 2014, when Ukrainian satirist Dmitry Chekalkin shared it, according to a Ukrainian Jewish outlet. Chekalkin later told the outlet that it was “photostock [sic],” meaning it was not real.
Reuters first debunked the image. The term “Zhido-Bandera” first started appearing in 2014 after the Euromaidan protests, according to Reuters. (RELATED: Pentagon Claims Last Time U.S. Used Cluster Munitions Was In 2003)
Bandera is likely a reference to Stephen Bandera, a Ukrainian nationalist who collaborated with Nazi Germany (though fought against them at times), fought against the Soviets and is “accused of carrying out murderous campaigns against Poles and Jews,” according to Radio Free Liberty/Free Europe.
Misinformation around the Russian-Ukrainian war is not new. Check Your Fact recently debunked an image claiming to show a German magazine cover of the Ukrainian offensive.