On Aug. 30, 2023, CrossTalk News host and "Died Suddenly" producer Lauren Witzke posted an image of a purported CNN post on X (formerly Twitter), claiming that amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had spoken of plans for "mass immigration to fix the country's demographics issues."
According to the supposed CNN post, Zelenskyy had said, "We will become a new diverse and multicultural nation that will be the model state for the rest of Europe."
Ukrainian President Zelensky plans on using mass immigration to fix the country's demographics issues.
"We will become a new diverse and multicultural nation that will be the model state for the rest of Europe."
This is what happens after you kill off all of the White… pic.twitter.com/aZwWhylPu5
— Lauren Witzke (@LaurenWitzkeDE) August 31, 2023
However, as BBC Verify journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh pointed out that same day, not only had CNN never posted this, but there was also no evidence that Zelenskyy ever said these words. Nor did Snopes find any evidence indicating Ukraine had announced plans for "mass immigration."
On Aug. 31, we reached out to Witzke via direct messages to two different X accounts. We did not receive any responses by the next morning, nor did Witzke appear to have corrected or removed her tweets that misled her own followers.
This is a fake CNN tweet, and Zelensky has never said such a thing. It went viral earlier this year and is once again being shared. pic.twitter.com/HCI3xx0B3X
— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) August 31, 2023
The image of the fake CNN post was at that point months old, having originated back when X was still Twitter and posts were still tweets.
In April 2023, USA Today reported on the image, giving it a fact-check rating of "Altered." The story included a link that showed Witzke had previously tweeted that same image at least one other time. Multiple users replied to Witzke's April tweet to alert her that the content wasn't genuine.
Zelensky is leading Ukranian Chrstian men to slaughter and then replacing them with immigrants. pic.twitter.com/7DjKNChod5
— Lauren Witzke (@LaurenWitzkeDE) April 27, 2023
Despite previously repeatedly posting about her apparent distrust of CNN, and being informed by multiple users in her replies that the CNN tweet wasn't real, Witzke reposted it again in late August.
Witzke is listed as a co-host of CrossTalk News, which is described on its X profile as "Christian news you can trust" that provides "hope through fact-based reporting."
She is also listed on IMDb.com as a producer of the 2022 documentary "Died Suddenly."
The phrase "Died Suddenly" refers to both the documentary and a movement. Both promote a conspiracy theory that claims mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines have caused a significant number of deaths since their introduction in 2020 (a claim not supported by scientific data).
Note: Reuters also previously filed a report about the fake CNN tweet, issuing a fact-check rating of "False."