News has been circulating on Facebook for days that the “world’s deadliest sniper,” Canadian Wali, whose full name is not released for security reasons, died minutes after landing near Mariupol to fight alongside the Ukrainians battle. However, the news is false and Wali is alive and well.
For those in a hurry
- Yes, Wali is truly known as one of the most accurate snipers in the world.
- No, Wali is not dead, as confirmed by a statement to CBC News and another to Global News.
analyses
Here’s one of the posts spreading the fake news:
Canadian sniper Wali, nicknamed ‘the world’s deadliest sniper’, has died.
Killed by Russian special forces just 20 minutes after being deployed in Mariupol, Ukraine.
No trace can be found on the me(r)dia of the regime. Not even on Google. Of course, no one will pass the message on.
(Source: LR, Geopolitica and News)
One of the Facebook posts announcing Wali’s death
The scam was also spread by the Russian media, as we can see from the Zavtra.ru website in an article dated March 16, 2022.
Days after the alleged news broke, it is Wali himself who denies his death. A Google search for the keywords “Wali sniper” brings up several articles denying news of the sniper’s death.
The various articles denying the death of the sniper
Wali said he was “fine” and “rested and well fed”. Currently, the sniper is in the Kyiv region, where he is recovering after an illness before returning to the front. “I was the last to know about my death,” Wali told Global News.
#Break: A notorious Canadian sniper named Wali, who was rumored to have been killed by Russians in Ukraine, is alive and well and resting in the Kyiv region before heading back to the front lines
Says he was just in blackout mode
Just spoke to him. story coming soon pic.twitter.com/a3QXepiYyK
Ashleigh Stewart (@Ash_Stewart_) March 22, 2022
The tweets from Ashleigh Stewart, journalist who interviewed Wali.
Open had already treated Wali with the Canadian contingent when he arrived in Ukraine.
Conclusions
After the announcement of his arrival in Ukraine, news began to circulate that Canadian sniper Vali had died “20 minutes after” landing near Mariupol. However, the news is entirely fabricated, and it was the sniper himself who denied it in interviews with CBC News and Global News.
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