Stand up for the facts!
Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.
I would like to contribute
This video is from a climate change protest in Austria. It doesn’t show crisis actors in Ukraine
If Your Time is short
- The people under the tarps aren’t crisis actors from Ukraine trying to fool people into thinking they are dead. They were part of a protest against climate change that was held in Vienna, Austria, on Feb. 4.
A video that appears to show a body suddenly moving under a plastic body bag has gone viral on social media amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with claims that it shows a Ukrainian crisis actor.
"Miracle! Death (dead) Ukrainians coming to life after dying on social media but caught on live camera," read one tweet sharing the video. "This entire PR disaster is falling apart very fast."
The clip shows a reporter speaking to the camera as dozens of people lie under tarps behind him. One person on the ground suddenly moves, followed by someone else running over to cover them back up.
Featured Fact-check
But the video is not from Ukraine and it does not reflect a news segment covering mass deaths — it’s from a protest held in Austria in early February.
Our Sources
Twitter post, March 1, 2022
PolitiFact, No, this video doesn’t show a German crisis actor, Feb. 8, 2022
YouTube, Wien: Demo gegen Klimapolitik, Feb. 4, 2022
OE24, Wien: Demo gegen Klimapolitik, Feb. 4, 2022
The Print, Video of moving ‘corpse’ in Ukraine is actually from climate change protest in Vienna, March 2, 2022
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
More by Samantha Putterman
This video is from a climate change protest in Austria. It doesn’t show crisis actors in Ukraine
Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.