Home Republican leaders on Friday unveiled their “Dedication to America” agenda for 2023 ― and with it, an inspirational video filled with scenes introduced as distinctive imagery of America that have been truly inventory footage from Russia and Ukraine.
The GOP’s video, “The Preamble to the Dedication to America,” opens with a narrator highlighting points of what it means to be an American.
“We rejoice the wealthy heritage of the American story and the vibrancy of the American Dream,” the voice says, over footage of a drilling rig at dawn.
However this video snippet, an obvious nod to America’s pure assets, wasn’t filmed in America. It’s inventory footage created by Serg Grbanoff, a filmmaker primarily based in Russia.
Grbanoff advised HuffPost that he filmed this scene in Russia’s Volgograd area. Right here’s a screenshot of the picture within the Home Republican leaders’ video, versus an unique shot on Shutterstock’s web site:
It’s not the one occasion the place Grbanoff’s work seems within the GOP’s video celebrating America.
In one other scene, a boy is seen smiling and operating in a subject with a toy airplane. The phrases “Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” seem on the display screen, a reference to the Declaration of Independence.
This clip was additionally created by Grbanoff, and likewise filmed within the Volgograd area. Right here’s a screenshot of the picture within the GOP’s video versus an unique shot on Shutterstock’s web site:
At one other level within the Home Republican leaders’ video, they take a shot at Democrats on the economic system.
“Democrats have led America off monitor,” the narrator says. The phrases “Crippling inflation and rampant crime” seem on the display screen, over a shot of a girl strolling by way of a grocery retailer.
However that is footage from a European grocery retailer. When you look intently on the screenshot, you’ll be able to see a tag hanging on one of many retailer cabinets that claims “AKCIA,” a Slovak phrase which means “motion.” Informally, “AKCIA” is used to designate gross sales in Slovakian shops.
Home Republicans virtually definitely used imagery from Ukraine of their video about America, too.
The video features a clip of a farmer carrying a bag on his shoulder in a subject of corn, because the phrases “And the vibrancy of the American Dream” seem on the display screen.
That is additionally inventory footage sourced from a Shutterstock contributor, DedovStock. The person featured within the clip works for DedovStock, and has a web page of his work on its web site. His web page options pictures of him in Ukraine and the Carpathian Mountains, which stretch by way of Ukraine and components of Jap Europe.
A spokesperson for Home Minority Chief Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark as to why GOP leaders rolled out their plan for America with a video that includes inventory footage from Russia.