Our fact-checking team debunked the fake information about Maia Sandu, the president of Moldova, who supposedly carried a $150,000 Marc Jacobs handbag to the Romanian elections.
What happened?
On May 22, pro-Russian Telegram channels, including “Bear” (archive), “Republic Odessa” (archive), “Odessa for Victory” (archive), and users of social media X (1, 2) published video that the president of Moldova arrived to vote in Romanian elections with the Marc Jacobs handbag that worth $150,000.
“Only 100 bags of this brand were created, and Sandu has won one. In addition, the average salary in Moldova is $700, and Moldovans pay half of this amount in taxes,” said pro-Russian Telegram channels.
Posts with fake information in pro-Russian Telegram channels
Analysis
Propagandists referred to the video bearing the Сosmopolitan Europe logo in their posts. The video is edited with published footage, including those taken while Sandu was voting (archive). Despite being Moldovan she also possessed a Romanian passport and participated in elections.
Screenshots from fake videos with logo of non-existent category “Сosmopolitan Europe.”
We checked the social media accounts of Сosmopolitan (Instagram, YouTube, Facebook) and found no similar videos or even categories with “Europe” signs. The magazine uses the “C” logo for its videos.
Comparison of original and fake videos with logo of non-existent category “Сosmopolitan Europe.”
Pro-Russia propagandists claimed that Maia Sandu voted during the elections in Romania. Igor Zaharov, the counselor of the Moldovan president, said (archive) that Sandu voted in the Romanian Embassy in Tirana, Albania, where the European Political Community Summit was held. He also added to his post a video of the voting that propagandists used for a fake video.
Screenshots from the original video published by the counselor of the Moldovan president.
We asked Igor Zaharov to comment on the situation with the limited bag that Sandu supposedly owns. He responded that this information was fake. The Moldovan president’s actual handbag is the LK Bennett UK brand and costs $135.
Comment of Igor Zaharov, the counselor of the Moldovan president.
The bag on the fake video is the LK Bennett bag — the propagandist used its photo from the online shop website.
So, the information that Maia Sandu came to the Romanian elections with a Marc Jacobs handbag that cost $150,000 is another Russian fake.
Conclusion: Fake
Author: Vasylyna Haviak
Translation to English: Elza Diachenko
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