Putin releases 500 lions on streets during coronavirus outbreak? Fact Check

An apparent screenshot of a news broadcast is spreading online that appears to show a story claiming Russian president Vladimir Putin released 500 lions on the streets or Russia to ensure citizens stay at home during the coronavirus outbreak.

FALSE

An example of the screenshot can be seen below.

Russian unleashed more than 500 lions on its streets to ensure that people are staying indoors during the pandemic outbreak.
Vladmir Putin released round 500 lions to make people stay indoors.

The rumour appears to have started after someone used a create-your-own “breaking news” website, BreakYourOwnNews.com, to create the fake screenshot. Many versions of the screenshot still carry the website’s watermark in the top right corner.

It is likely it was meant as a joke, but as often the case, many have taken the claims at face value.

Many spin-off rumours claim Vladimir Putin released tigers as well as lions onto the streets of Russia.

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As for the image of the lion itself, this was taken in April 2016 when a lion named Columbus was captured on the streets of Johannesburg, South Africa. The big cat – named Columbus – wasn’t on the loose, however. It was in the middle of a makeshift filming set and was bought in by a production crew.

There are no reports of the Russian president doing such a thing, nor would it make sense to do so since many workers, including police, military, medics and those working in key industry sectors would still need to go outdoors.

The claim is false and we don’t recommend circulating it.