According to several news reports this week, Leonardo DiCaprio gave $10 million to the International Visegrad Fund for Ukraine, including Entertainment Tonight, The Independent, and The Sydney Morning. There was never any such contribution.
Despite the fact that DiCaprio's gift was extensively publicized and disseminated on social media, the International Visegrad Fund stated it has no record of the actor donating.
Leonardo DiCaprio Contributes to Humanitarian Groups
People reported on Wednesday afternoon, shortly after Insider contacted DiCaprio's agents for comment, that the actor had really given to a variety of philanthropic projects in Ukraine.
According to a source close to DiCaprio, the actor gave to CARE, the IRC, UNHCR, and Save the Children, among other humanitarian groups working in Ukraine, the $10 million number is incorrect. It's unclear when DiCaprio made the gifts, and the source declined to say how much he gave.
Many news organizations covered the contribution referenced the same single source: Polish News, which referred to a story from the Polish broadcaster TVN24.
According to a source close to the actor, DiCaprio has no family links to Ukraine. According to its website, the Visegrad Fund is "an international donor organization" founded by Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia "to foster regional cooperation in the Visegrad region," which encompasses those four countries.
A post on the organization's official Facebook page on Tuesday attempted to deny the assertion. Despite the lack of proof, multiple media publications, including the Washington Examiner and Entertainment Tonight, reported on the alleged contribution.
The claim gained traction on social media as well. For example, a tweet from Occupy Democrats referencing the erroneous contribution total was shared over 11,000 times. Misinformation about the crisis has proliferated over the internet since Russia's aggressive invasion of Ukraine at the end of February, according to Insider.
Despite an earlier widely circulated allegation that was erroneous, Leonardo DiCaprio has given to humanitarian groups aiding Ukraine.
According to a source close to the actor who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren't permitted to talk publicly about the situation, neither the contribution nor DiCaprio's ancestry was accurate.
DiCaprio has given to the humanitarian organization CARE, International Rescue Committee, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and Save the Children in support of Ukraine. There were no dollar figures given.
In 2010, DiCaprio visited with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg for a seminar on the endangered Siberian tiger. DiCaprio is a UNHCR peace messenger and is a passionate environmentalist, India Today via MSN reported.
Ukraine Donations Outpour Amid Russian Invasion
As Ukraine confronts another week of Russian-led warfare, several celebrities have donated cash to aid with the continuing situation. Because of the magnitude of the humanitarian situation, many celebrities have used their platforms to promote awareness of resources that people may utilize to make money to individuals impacted by the violence, with some celebrities even publicizing the amounts they have contributed personally.
In what is currently Europe's fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II, at least 2 million people have left Ukraine, with over 1,000 civilians murdered.
Hundreds of thousands of people have gathered across the world to demonstrate their support for Ukraine, and many celebrities have utilized their platforms to offer their support, as per Newsweek via MSN.
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