Russian propagandists have falsified figures in a publication by Canada's CBC.
On Telegram and Facebook, Russian propagandists are circulating a screenshot of a CBC article about Marc Mazerolle, a Canadian whose son was killed while fighting in defense of Ukraine. He went on to establish a foundation that supports the families of foreign volunteers whose loved ones were killed or went missing in Ukraine. The altered screenshot falsely attributes to him a claim that 70,000-90,000 members of the International Legion have "disappeared."
This is false. Mazerolle does cite his own estimate of the number of foreign volunteers who have been killed or gone missing in Ukraine, but the figure is ten times lower than the one promoted by Russian propaganda. According to the CBC article, his estimate is 7,000-9,000 people.
Russian propagandists manipulated the original screenshot using image-editing software to add an extra zero to the figures.
It should also be noted that the estimate of 7,000-9,000 is Mazerolle's personal assessment and has not been independently verified. The CBC article notes that his foundation is currently assisting about 40 families from around the world, including those from Canada, France, Finland, Australia, and the Czech Republic.
