Why these images do not prove that Vladimir Putin sent a ‘body double’ to Mariupol

Issued on: 22/03/2023 – 14:52

If you only have a minute:

• Since March 20, there have been a number of posts circulating online claiming that the Russian president did not actually visit Mariupol on March 19, and that he sent a “double” in his place.
• The claim is based on three images which are said to be taken in different locations on different dates, showing physical differences in Putin’s facial structure. 
• However, the dates and locations provided with these images are incorrect and the physical differences seen in the photos can be attributed to age and facial expression. 

The fact-check, in detail

The Kremlin reported on March 19 that the Russian president had visited war-ravaged Mariupol, a city in eastern Ukraine which has been occupied by the Russian army since May 2022. 

But this surprise visit, only announced by Moscow after the fact, fuelled rumours online. According to a number of posts shared on Twitter, Facebook and Telegram, Putin actually sent a body double in his place. 

The allegations are based on an image which compares three photos of the Russian president, said to have been taken on February 21 in Moscow, March 18 in Sevastopol, and March 19 in Mariupol. The image highlights differences in Putin’s facial structure, presented as evidence that it was not he who appeared in Mariupol. 

The image was even shared by Anton Gerashchenko, advisor to the minister of internal affairs of Ukraine, and shared more than 6,000 times. 

However, these images do not prove anything: they were taken over the course of several years, and capture the Russian president’s different facial expressions, which explains the visible differences.

The first image taken in 2020, not 2023

Contrary to the text written on the image, the first photo on the left was not taken on February 21, 2023 in Moscow. 

We isolated the image and did a reverse image search (click here to find out how) and found it published by a Russian news agency in an article dated February 23, 2020.

The photograph was therefore taken three years ago, before the beginning of the current invasion of Ukraine. This three-year gap could explain the subtle differences in Putin’s facial features.

The second photo taken in Mariupol, not Sevastopol

The second photo is taken from a report published on March 19, 2023 by the Russian media Izviesta, as indicated in this article by the Italian verification media Open.online. 

The report is available on the media’s Telegram page. “During his working trip to Mariupol, Vladimir Putin spoke with the residents. […] The residents of the new houses also invited the president to come and see how they had settled in,” it says in the video. 

A screenshot from this report was mirrored to better compare it to the other images of Putin shared online. The screenshot was taken at a moment in the video when the Russian president was grimacing, which may explain why his chin looks different from other official images. 

In other parts of the video, however, we see the Russian president from other angles, from which he can be more easily identified. 

And contrary to what was written on the misleading post, this image was taken in Mariupol, over 600 km away from Sevastopol.

A final photo taken from the same trip to Mariupol

The final photo of Putin, appearing at the left of the original image, is actually a screenshot taken from the same report filmed in Mariupol by Izviesta and published on March 19. Therefore, two of these images of the Russian president were taken at the same time and place.

Accusations of staged official visits

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022, Vladimir Putin has often been accused of using look-alikes or body doubles during his travels. Some posts online accuse the president of hiding from public view, because he is afraid or doesn’t trust his entourage.

These suspicions are often fuelled by Ukrainian media and officials.

The Ukrainian media outlet The Kyiv Post, for example, picked up on the three photos shared recently, asking Ukrainian military intelligence official Andriy Yusov about it. “A man who looks like Putin visited Mariupol,” he commented simply.

In October 2022, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, told Ukrainian television that the Russian president was using “at least three look-alikes” who had undergone “plastic surgery” to look more like him, as reported in British tabloids such as The Daily Mail. These allegations have never been independently proven.

Vladimir Putin has also been repeatedly accused of using extras during his travels.

>> Read more on The Observers: Is this blonde woman with Putin a ‘paid extra’ for photo-ops? Nope

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also been accused of staging his movements and visits. For example, posts from October 2022 used a video taken out of context to claim Zelensky was shooting his videos from a studio, not on the ground.