Listen to the news

In a YouTube video titled "12 interesting NEWS that the MEDIA HID from us", Slavi Panayotov (The Clashers) tries to suggest that the US is preparing a huge shipment of military equipment (tanks) for the eastern flank of NATO. For proof, however, it shows old footage that was shot years before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The presenter refers to the gradual increase in the rapid reaction force announced at the NATO summit in Madrid in June 2023: "The videos were made mainly in America and coincide with the information that NATO is about to deploy about 300,000 troops along our eastern border." Slavi adds that the strengthening of the military presence on NATO's eastern flank can also be interpreted as a provocation to Russia.

The footage shows trains carrying dozens of American tanks (M1 Abrams, K2 Black Panther). The videos shown are from 2019, 2020 and 2021.

The first video, part of which was used in the show, was posted in 2019 on the YouTube channel Jason's family adventures, in which a family recounts their lives. Specific footage shows a train transporting U.S. Abrams tanks as well as other military equipment. The comments below the video do not mention the conflict between Russia and Ukraine or NATO.

The second clip contains footage of a train loaded with military equipment passing through San Diego, Southern California. First published on the X platform (formerly Twitter) in March 2020, the video even then became a cause for panic that martial law was beginning in the United States. The day after the publication, a fact-check was released by the US website Leed Story. In fact, it is a common event, since near San Diego is the "National Training Center [...] where U.S. Army cavalry units use tanks for desert training."

The third video, used by The Clashers, shows footage taken by a YouTube user named @SD457500. We are talking about an amateur channel in which videos of various models of trains from American railways are published. Neither his publication nor the comments discuss potential armaments on NATO's eastern flank, and the video itself dates back to November 2021.

Checked: Video on the channel of the famous YouTuber Slavi Panayotov suggests that the US sends large quantities of military equipment to the eastern flank of NATO. The footage was taken out of amateur videos shared on social media between 2019 and 2021, and none of the videos mentioned NATO or a potential conflict with Russia.

Slavi Klashera

fact-checking