Savik Shuster's Show Accused of Faking Guests in Zelensky's Presence

A woman asked questions while introducing herself as different professionals.

The talk show Freedom of Speech with Savik Shuster, currently airing on the Ukraine TV channel, has been accused of deceiving the audience invited to the studio, who are present during the broadcast and vote on whether they support the speakers currently addressing the show.

In the November 8 broadcast, a woman from the audience introduced herself as a 'primary school teacher' with two children. In the December 6 broadcast, apparently the same woman, in a video showing how and why audience members are selected, introduced herself as a 'private entrepreneur' named Tatiana.

A clip showing this woman's two appearances on different broadcasts was posted on Facebook by user Viktor Yakovlev.

The video about audience selection was shown in the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was a guest on the show. Support for the president from the studio audience (which included 'Tatiana', who could vote) reached over 90%.

Updated at 03:50, 9 December. In the Freedom of Speech programme responded to accusations of faking guests. You can read the studio's response by following the link.

The clip can be seen in the full broadcast recording from 2:40. Savik Shuster and other speakers representing the Freedom of Speech show presented the audience selection as objectively representing all of Ukraine.

Earlier, the substitution of real participants with actors was noticed by Russian propaganda media.