Pranked British defense minister says the video of the call was “edited” and wants it removed from YouTube
London has asked YouTube on Wednesday to censor any videos of the call between pranksters Vovan and Lexus – pretending to be the Ukrainian PM – and Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, claiming they are propaganda by the Russian state that was manipulated to show falsehoods and undermine British reputation and Kiev’s morale.
“We are calling on YouTube to help us support Ukraine by taking down videos doctored by the Russian state and disseminated to try and sap the morale of a people fighting for their freedom,” saidThe defense ministry (MoD), London.
In the attached letter – which lacks the name of both the sender and the recipient – the ministry claims “the Russian State was responsible for the hoax call”That and more “Russian disinformation presented in this video creates a substantial risk to UK national security” Also available: “risk to international unity working to support Ukraine.”
According to the MoD, these videos are not official. “modified and edited”Wallace may be stating things which are false, as in the assertion that Britain is a nation. “running out of our own”Anti-tank Missiles of the NLAW
You can see it here “factually incorrect,”The MoD stated in the letter. “We have no supply shortages.” Another claim the MoD labeled false – presumably made by the pranksters – was that the NLAWS sent to Ukraine “often failed.”
“Any perceived failure of our lethal aid supplied to support Ukraine will provide an immediate detrimental effect upon the morale of Ukrainian forces,”According to the MoD,
“I am confident you would not wish to be a conduit for Russian propaganda or be in any way associated with the potential consequences of this type of media manipulation,”YouTube is told by an unidentified official from the MoD that he wants the platform to stop threatening him. “remove (or at least block) access”Any videos from the call.
Wallace raised a stink over the call last Thursday, claiming he hung up on the person pretending to be Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal after getting suspicious about the “misleading” questions. Later, it was revealed that the Microsoft Teams phone call took almost 10 minutes and occurred while Wallace visited Poland.
The Minister denounced the Moscow government’s call and criticized it as an example. “Russian disinformation, distortion and dirty tricks”He launched an internal security probe into how the pranksters got in touch with him.
On Tuesday, the notorious pranksters Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov – going by the monikers Vovan and Lexus – confirmed they had been behind the call and posted several teasers, saying the full video would be up soon. This duo have a long history of playing pranks on celebrities and politicians, including the Canadian PM Justin Trudeau as well as Turkish President Recep Takyip Erdogan. They deny that they are agents for the government.
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