Photo of Putin Popping Ukraine Balloon Is Not Created by Banksy
The Claim
The photo of President Putin popping a Ukraine balloon is an artwork by Banksy.
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A collage of two images depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin using a needle to pop a Ukraine balloon has gone viral on social media. Users claim this collage is by Banksy, the British street artist.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar has investigated the claim and found it to be misleading.
Using Google Reverse Search, there was no evidence to prove that Banksy created the image. We also looked up the artist’s social media accounts, especially on Instagram, where he posts his authentic and original artworks, but we did not find this image among his work. The image is not Banksy's work, according to a spokesperson for the artist who spoke to the Full Fact website.
The image turned out to be a digitally altered picture from a 2019 music video clip scene of the Russian band Little Big.
The original image depicts a man trying to pop an orange balloon, but he burst when he touched the balloon. The video clip was uploaded to Youtube in 2019.
Description: The original image is from a music video clip scene.
Screenshots from the video clip were also circulating on Reddit two years ago.
