Fact Check: Did El-Sayed promise to bring peace between Russia and Ukraine if elected?
DETROIT, MICHIGAN: After Dr Abdul El-Sayed's victory in the Michigan Democratic Senate Primary, a rumor began circulating on social media platforms claiming that El-Sayed has promised to bring peace between Russia and Ukraine with just a phone call if he wins the election. The claim has triggered mockery against the Democrat, with many calling for a fact-check.
Claim: Abdul El-Sayed promised to bring peace between Russia and Ukraine
According to a viral Facebook post that appeared on Facebook, El-Sayed said, “If elected, I can bring peace between Russia and Ukraine in one day, with just a phone call. That's because Putin respects me. You believe me, right?”
The post appeared alongside a Fox News logo, indicating that the Democrat gave the statement exclusively to the outlet.
The viral post has spread on multiple social media platforms, garnering tens of thousands of views and triggering mockery and criticism from conservative accounts, with many accusing making fake promises.
Meanwhile, a few others questioned the claim’s authenticity and called for a fact-check.
Fact Check: The claim originated as satire
The claim, however, is false, as there is no evidence of the Democratic nominee making such a remark.
There are no reports or footage from Fox News in which El-Sayed promises to bring peace between Russia and Ukraine in a day with just a phone call.
If El-Sayed had really made such a remark, it would not go unreported by prominent news media outlets, but a search on Google for the claim yielded no credible media reports.
Moreover, the graphic image attributing the report to Fox News is fake and fabricated, and a closer look at it reveals a watermark stating, ‘Mrs Putin Satire,’ a Facebook parody account that has made similar posts for the sake of clickbait.
US peace efforts face territorial roadblock
The claim surfaced as US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff held talks with Vladimir Putin in Moscow, followed by a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv last weekend, and both parties remain firm over territorial concessions despite US peace efforts.
Kushner said on Sunday that "territory is going to be the main issue, and, you know, that's where the sides are still apart."
"Our job as the mediator is to figure out how we can come up with a creative solution that doesn't violate Ukraine's desires and that helps them achieve, you know, their objective and does it in a way that we can get Russia to end the conflict in a way that hopefully, you know, allows both parties to move forward in a framework where this doesn't happen again," Kushner said.
