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Does This Video Show Anti-Zelenskyy Billboards in Japan? No!

We found that the video has been altered to add texts against Zelenskyy on the digital billboard.

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A video which shows a digital billboard on a building saying "Stop Zelenskyy, Stop War" is going viral on the internet with users claiming that it was recently put up in Japan's Shibuya district.

What have users said?: Those sharing the video have uploaded it with a caption, "Japan is starting to wake up. An advertising banner appeared on a building in Tokyo, the Shibuya district: 'Stop war. Stop, Zelenskyy'."

A Canadian magazine, The Post Millennial, also shared the video on their official X (formerly known as Twitter) handle. Archives of more similar posts can be viewed here, here, here, and here.

Are these claims true?: No, the video has been altered to add texts against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The original video, which dates back to October 2020, featured different people on the billboard.

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How did we find that out?: Taking Shibuya district as reference, we performed a keyword search on YouTube and came across a video on a verified channel called 'Virtual Japan'.

  • The video was titled, "4K HDR Night Walk in Tokyo Shibuya (東京散歩)."

  • It was uploaded on 19 October 2020.

  • The longer version also shows people wearing masks, which indicated a possibility of the video being recorded during the pandemic.

  • On going through the video, we found similar visuals at around the 21:20 timestamp.

  • We compared some visuals of the viral video to the one uploaded on YouTube and found that the former has been edited to add anti-Zelenskyy texts.

  • One can see pictures of different people being displayed on the digital billboard.

  • Similar cars, bikes, shops, people can be seen in both the videos.

    (Swipe right to view all comparisons.)

  • A comparison clearly highlights the similarities between both videos.

    (Source: YouTube/Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)

Geolocating the place: We took "Bic Camera" as a reference and searched for the store on Google Maps. Using the street view option, we were able to geolocate the place where the video was recorded.

  • It shows the digital billboard above the store which can also be seen in the viral video.

  • We did not find any credible news reports which suggested that billboards against Zelenskyy were recently put up in Japan.

Conclusion: A digitally altered video is going viral with a claim stating that it shows anti-Zelenskyy billboards being put up in Japan.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)

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