#AntifakeOfTheDay

All investigations by Plunder and Flee Inc. Bellingcat ‒ or, as they pretentiously call themselves, bell¿ngcat ‒ their “quality,” “thoroughness” and “relevance” are at about the same level.

This can be nicely illustrated by the situation around the alleged hospitalisation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is currently on a business trip in Indonesia. First, we refuted the morning piece of fake news by AP, Reuters and several other Western media claiming that Lavrov had been hospitalised. We refuted it promptly, clearly and with video evidence.

But that did not stop the “international detectives” from Bellingcat. After the refutation was posted on Maria Zakharova’s Telegram channel, German artist and graphic designer Timmi Allen, who is also a Bellingcat contributor, posted a “sensation” on Twitter claiming that the video featuring the Russian minister was filmed at the Nusa Dua hospital.

Obviously, this is outrageous fake news. The video was filmed in the hotel where the Foreign Minister is staying. Graphic designer Timmi Allen admitted as much by deleting his tweet after it went viral on Western, Ukrainian and other Twitter feeds and questionable Telegram channels.

Bellingcat level: a wooden pallet.

How about first, Bellingcat finally finds the Skripals? Then we’ll see what kind of “investigators” they are. Right now, all they are is fake news peddlers. Sergey Lavrov is at the hotel, and its images the fake generator from Germany tried to pass off as a hospital.

One more note for any graphic designers out there who fancy themselves “investigators”: the G20 summit will only begin tomorrow. That is, on November 15.