This Is an Old Photo of Ukrainians Listening to a Motivational Speaker
The Claim
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians gathered to praise Jesus after the ban on preaching the Gospel was lifted.
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Emerging story
Social media users are claiming to have seen thousands of Ukrainians "gather to praise the name of Jesus" in the streets of Ukraine after the President's decision to lift a decades-long ban on the practice of preaching the Gospel. "The banner of Jesus Christ has been raised over every nation on the face of the earth." The claim was accompanied by a photo of a large crowd on the street.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar looked into the claim and discovered it to be false. A TinEye reverse image search revealed that the image was uploaded online as early as September 2017. A screenshot of the results is provided below.
An article from 18 September 2017 was found using the results, which explained why 150,000 people gathered in central Kyiv on Ukraine's first Thanksgiving day to hear motivational speaker Nick Vujicic. Vujicic is an "Australian American Christian evangelist and motivational speaker born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by the absence of arms and legs," according to his website. Another article, also translated from Ukrainian, confirmed the event that drew large crowds. The image is shown below in both articles.
Religious restrictions existed previously under the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which existed from 1936 to 1991 and practiced state atheism. However, religious freedom exists in Ukraine, and it is not illegal to preach the Gospel, contrary to popular belief. Article 35 of Ukraine's 1996 Constitution states that everyone has the right to freedom of conscience and religion. This right includes the "freedom to profess or not profess a religion, to celebrate religious rites and ceremonies, individually or collectively and without hindrance, and to engage in religious activities." A screenshot of the excerpt is provided below.
According to the findings, the Misbar team confirms that not only is the image from September 2017 outdated but so is the claim that preaching is illegal in Ukraine. The crowd had gathered to hear an internationally known motivational speaker, Nick Vujicic.
