Fact Check: Video doesn’t show migrants fleeing Russia after Putin citizenship offer | Reuters

Posts on social media shared the video suggesting migrants were fleeing so as not to be sent to the warfront. A post on social media platform X reads, "Putin threatened to send all illegal Chinese immigrants to the front lines in Ukraine. Airports saw a sudden rush of flights back to China." Screenshots from the video were also shared on Facebook. The video, however, can be traced back to at least Dec. 30, 2023, when it was posted on Douyin, the Chinese counterpart of TikTok, as showing people traveling from Russia for New Year. The same user says in the description of a different video of the same location that it shows Heihe river port in China.
Title: Fact Check: Video doesn’t show migrants fleeing Russia after Putin citizenship offer | Reuters
URL: https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/video-doesnt-show-migrants-fleeing-russia-after-putin-citizenship-offer-2024-01-13/
Publisher: Reuters
Date published: January 13, 2024
Description:

Posts on social media shared the video suggesting migrants were fleeing so as not to be sent to the warfront. A post on social media platform X reads, “Putin threatened to send all illegal Chinese immigrants to the front lines in Ukraine. Airports saw a sudden rush of flights back to China.” Screenshots from the video were also shared on Facebook.

The video, however, can be traced back to at least Dec. 30, 2023, when it was posted on Douyin, the Chinese counterpart of TikTok, as showing people traveling from Russia for New Year. The same user says in the description of a different video of the same location that it shows Heihe river port in China.