{"id":1402853,"date":"2022-03-27T11:15:11","date_gmt":"2022-03-27T15:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1402853"},"modified":"2022-03-27T11:15:14","modified_gmt":"2022-03-27T15:15:14","slug":"uk-govt-pressures-youtube-to-censor-video-of-defence-secs-embarrassing-call-with-fake-ukrainian-prime-minister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/uk-govt-pressures-youtube-to-censor-video-of-defence-secs-embarrassing-call-with-fake-ukrainian-prime-minister\/","title":{"rendered":"UK Govt Pressures YouTube to Censor Video of Defence Sec&#039;s Embarrassing Call with Fake Ukrainian Prime Minister"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fuk-govt-pressures-youtube-to-censor-video-of-defence-secs-embarrassing-call-with-fake-ukrainian-prime-minister%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1402853&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\">Britain\u2019s Ministry of Defence pressured YouTube to remove footage of a Russian YouTuber fooling the Defence Secretary into thinking he was the Ukrainian prime minister, claiming it had been \u201cdoctored\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Ben Wallace MP was left <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-politics-60829542\">red-faced<\/a>\u00a0after Russian pranksters Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexey Stolyarov, known as Vovan and Lexus, managed to bypass Ministry of Defence security while posing as Ukraine\u2019s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, managing to record a video call with the Cabinet minister on the 18th of March.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>Vovan and Lexus have pulled similar pranks <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.co.uk\/article\/russia-hoax-boris-johnson-he-fell-right-into-our-trap-say-lexus-and-vovan-0s9hlqscp\">for years<\/a>, successfully fooling high-profile figures including Sir Elton John, the President of Turkey, the former President of Ukraine, U.S. energy secretary Rick Perry, and even Boris Johnson during his time as Foreign Secretary.<\/p>\n<p>While embarrassing, the call to Wallace was initially accepted as harmless \u2014 but the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has since alleged that the third released clip of the hoax call contains what Wallace describes as \u201ctotal clipped garbage\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The MoD warned the assumed pranksters were spreading \u201cpropaganda\u201d to aid Russia\u2019s war machine.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>In the clip, Wallace appears to suggest that Britain is \u201csad\u201d after Ukraine\u2019s President\u00a0Volodymyr Zelensky\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-10614963\/Kyiv-braces-36-hours-hell-Mayor-Vitali-Klitschko-warns-civilians-prepare-bombardment.html\">announced<\/a> they would not be joining NATO as \u201cBritain is one of those countries that wanted you to join NATO,\u201d the\u00a0<em>Telegraph<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2022\/03\/23\/ministry-defence-accuses-youtube-aiding-abetting-russian-propaganda\/\">reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The MoD also claim the clips falsely report that\u00a0NLAW anti-tank missiles supplied to Ukraine from Britain have failed to function and that the United Kingdom is running out of its own supplies.<\/p>\n<p>Wallace reacted furiously to the clips on Friday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-politics-60824956\">branding<\/a> them as \u201cRussian disinformation, distortion and dirty tricks\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>A Number 10 spokesman branded the clips as \u201cstandard practice for Russian information operations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDisinformation is a tactic straight from the Kremlin playbook to try to distract from their illegal activities in Ukraine and the human rights abuses being committed there\u201d, the spokesman claimed.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>Number 10 also revealed that a Russian prankster got through to Home Secretary Priti Patel \u2014 also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-10651461\/Russian-pranksters-release-YouTube-clip-moment-duped-Priti-Patel.html\">duped<\/a> into believing she was speaking to\u00a0Shmyhal \u2014 and that dubious individuals had also tried to contact Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">As the Ukraine war rages on, armed local volunteers in the country\u2019s capital of Kyiv have been hunting Russian \u201csaboteurs\u201d. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/U4ggruPCdi\">https:\/\/t.co\/U4ggruPCdi<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreitbartNews\/status\/1498389141855387650?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 28, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>After reporting the clips \u2014 which YouTube initially declined to take down \u2014 the MoD sent a strongly-worded letter to YouTube in which they warned that \u201cany perceived failure of our lethal aid supplied to support Ukraine will provide an immediate detrimental effect upon the morale of Ukrainian forces mounting resistance to Russian aggression and create another chapter in the Kremlin\u2019s playbook of disinformation and lies\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Britain\u2019s Ministry of Defence went on to suggest to the\u00a0Google-owned video-sharing company that they would not want to appear to\u00a0be a \u201cconduit for Russian propaganda or be in any way associated with the potential consequences of this time of media manipulation\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Separately, an MoD source went as far as to say that \u201cYouTube is in danger of aiding and abetting the Russian state propaganda machine, putting people at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Subsequently, YouTube <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/uk\/politics\/youtube-russia-hoax-calls-patel-wallace-b2044569.html\">pulled<\/a> the videos on Saturday, finding they did not breach their \u201ccommunity guidelines\u201d but accepting they could be used to benefit Russia\u2019s President Vladimir Putin in his war on Ukraine. They then deleted the channel, which had over 110,000 subscribers, altogether.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have terminated the YouTube channel <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20210430060340\/https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC7aFhtshxOnaqioFAJ0ZSvA\">Vovan222prank<\/a> as part of our ongoing investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Russia,\u201d a YouTube spokesman announced on Saturday.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">EU President on Ukraine: &#8216;They Belong to Us\u2026 We Want Them In&#8217; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/mrOjRtBEQZ\">https:\/\/t.co\/mrOjRtBEQZ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreitbartLondon\/status\/1498227109029982212?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 28, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h5 class=\"western\"><em><span>Follow Breitbart London on Facebook:<\/span><\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BreitbartLondon\/\"><span>Breitbart London<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Britain\u2019s Ministry of Defence pressured YouTube to remove footage of a Russian YouTuber fooling the Defence Secretary into thinking he was the Ukrainian prime minister, claiming it had been \u201cdoctored\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":349,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1402853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1402853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/349"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1402853"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1402853\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1402853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1402853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1402853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}