The brutality of the Russian invasion was there for all to see on March 9 when Vladimir Putin's troops bombarded a maternity and children's hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine which left three dead at the scene and over a dozen people injured. A young pregnant Ukrainian influencer, who was seen after the carnage, is now in the center of a Russian propaganda campaign claiming that the bombing was staged.
Photos and videos of the aftermath of the attack went viral with many people around the world stunned by the horrific nature of the Russian shelling. One picture in particular sent shivers down the spine as a photographer managed to capture a shot of an injured pregnant woman being carried out of the destroyed building on a stretcher.
The woman, who was seen stroking her bloodied lower abdomen in the picture, died along with her unborn baby later that day. The Associated Press managed to learn her fate after the news agency tracked down pregnant women who were inside the maternity hospital when the facility was bombed.
Russia uses pregnant Ukrainian in disinformation campaign
There is another story floating around, though, with the Russians launching a disinformation campaign that one of the pregnant women, Marianna Vishegirskaya, was planted by the Ukrainian government and the attack being shown was staged by them.
The Russians likely targeted Vishegirskaya because she is a popular internet personality in Ukraine. Vishegirskaya is widely known as @gixie_beauty on social media platform Instagram. When the Russians found her in the pictures that circulated, they pounced on the opportunity and casted Vishegirskaya in the role of a 'crisis actor.'
I received an update from a relative of Marianna - a pregnant girl from Mariupol's bombed hospital. They were able to reach her on the phone briefly. Last night at 10pm, Marianna gave birth to a baby girl! They are ok, but it's very cold in Mariupol and the bombing doesn't stop pic.twitter.com/PSLxI6I0zZ
— Olga Tokariuk (@olgatokariuk) March 11, 2022
According to Mashable, this is a classic Russian propaganda tactic that has also been used by conspiracy theorists and far-right groups in the United States. That happened during the mass shootings in Sandy Hook and Parkland when the victims in those deadly attacks were falsely accused of being paid actors.
The real reason, though, why Vishegirskaya was there in the maternity hospital is because she was due to give birth there. Photos on her Instagram account even before the Russian invasion started show Vishegirskaya in a clearly pregnant state, debunking Russian claims that she was a hired actor.
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Russian goverment coordinating disinformation campaign
According to a USA Today fact check, Vishegirskaya herself was interviewed by the AP after the explosion, telling them that they were lying in wards when glass, frames, windows and walls suddenly flew apart. She added that they don't know how it happened.
The disinformation regarding the young pregnant Ukrainian woman appears to have started from a Russian Telegram channel called "Signal." That channel has a wide reach, with at least half a million subscribers on its platform.
It is more than likely that the disinformation campaign that focused on Vishegirskaya was coordinated by the Russian government. News outlet Vice recently uncovered a propaganda campaign showing how influential TikTok personalities in Russia were being paid by the government to spread pro-Kremlin propaganda about the war in Ukraine.
