FACT CHECK: Did An Italian News Outlet Use A Movie Scene In Its Coverage Of The Ukrainian Crisis?

An image shared on Facebook claims that Italy’s TGCOM24 news outlet showed a clip from the film “Deep Impact” in a report about citizens fleeing Kyiv, Ukraine.

Verdict: False

There is no evidence the outlet aired the clip from the film in its coverage of the crisis in Ukraine. An editor for the publication said it did not broadcast the film scene.

Fact Check:

Fighting in Ukraine has reportedly made humanitarian evacuations “extremely difficult,” especially near the city of Kyiv, according to BBC News. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said half the city’s residents have fled, Al Jazeera reported.

A post shared on Facebook shows two copies of the same picture of a traffic jam on a highway. The first picture is labeled “escape from Kiev,” and features TGCOM24’s logo and an Italian flag emoji in the upper right-hand corner, while the second image labels the scene as “Movie Deep Impact.” The post appears to be suggesting the Italian news outlet lifted a scene from the movie and attempted to pass it off as showing the situation in Kyiv.

The image in both instances is indeed from the 1998 movie “Deep Impact” and can be found on the stock photo website Alamy. However, there is no evidence to suggest TGCOM24 ever aired or published the image. Check Your Fact found no articles using the movie frame on TGCOM24’s website, nor does it appear in any of the outlet’s Facebook posts or on its Twitter account. Several Italian fact checks also found no evidence the news outlet used the movie scene in a segment about Kyiv.

An editor for TGCOM24 told Italy-based media outlet BUTAC that the outlet had never aired the scene, adding that the organization did not display its logo in the way the Facebook post shows. (RELATED: Does This Video Show Ukrainian Soldiers In Chechnya?)

This is not the first time a news outlet has been the target of online misinformation related to the conflict in Ukraine. Check Your Fact recently debunked a claim that alleged CNN reported on Russian President Vladimir Putin warning India against interfering in his invasion of the country.

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