A viral video has baselessly claimed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky purchased a huge ranch in the US state of Wyoming, making him one of the biggest private landowners in America.
The video - which racked up nearly two million views on X this week before being deleted - falsely claims that a Cyprus-based company, which was previously linked to Zelensky in the Pandora Papers, bought Pathfinder Ranches on 24 October.
It also shares similarities with the work of a major Russia-based influence operation previously investigated by BBC Verify that uses fake websites and videos to spread false stories about Ukraine and its political leaders.
Estate agent Swan Land, which is in charge of selling the 900,000-acre piece of land, has confirmed to BBC Verify that the claims in the video are false and that it is currently being sold to a “family-owned” US cattle ranching company.
The video features a fake web page made to appear like the real Swan Land website, which claims the ranch has been sold to a company based in Cyprus.
BBC Verify checked the fake website from the video’s registration information, which confirmed that it was created on 21 October. Swan Land’s official website was created in 2013 and makes no mention of selling the property to a company in Cyprus.
Emma Pengelly and Sherie Ryder
BBC Verify
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