FAKE NEWS
Russian state media circulate fake videos of England fans abusing old people at the World Cup
Government officials fear the move is a bid to whip up anger against Brits abroad which could put them in jeopardy with angry locals
RUSSIAN state media are circulating fake news videos of England fans abusing old people at the World Cup.
Government officials fear the move is a bid to whip up anger with the Brits abroad which could put them in jeopardy with angry locals.
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The alarming development comes as it also emerged last night that ministers fear the Kremlin will mount “disruption” attacks on Britain in a bid to damage the national team’s progress in the World Cup.
The fake news video - seen by The Sun - features two drunken England fans picking up an old man off a park bench, and putting him into a rubbish bin.
The elderly man looks like Soviet Union founder Vladimir Lenin. The fans chant “Mr Lenin” as they manhandle him, in another apparent slant to Russia.
But the one minute film to be false, as the alleged England fans in it can be clearly heard speaking English in a Russian accent.
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The film was aired by several Russian media outlets, including wire service Sputnik News, which is controlled by the Kremlin and widely known as a propaganda outlet.
The media website Lenta - which also has strong links to the Putin government - has also used it to disparage England fans.
A government minister told The Sun: “We will find some distractions the longer we remain in the World Cup as part of the Russian government’s psy-ops. If we win the World Cup, then we should expect a serious, proxy driven cyber attack.”
The minister added: “We are not at war with Russia, but we are not at peace”.