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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on October 24, 2023 in social media posts: Russian President Vladimir Putin suffered a heart attack Oct. 22, 2023. ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") * Facebook Fact-checks * Russia * Social Media ![\\"Russian](\\" Russian President Vladimir Putin conducts training with the forces and means of the ground, sea and air components of the nuclear deterrent forces in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP) ![\\"Sara](\\" By Sara Swann October 31, 2023 # Claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin suffered a heart attack is unfounded #### If Your Time is short * The Kremlin denied Russian President Vladimir Putin was ill. Photos released by Russian media show Putin at meetings and public events in the days after this supposed health emergency. * The claim started on Telegram, a platform known for facilitating the spread of misinformation about Russia. The account that made the claim has shared other dubious reports about Putin’s health in the past. See the sources for this fact-check Unverified reports about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s health have been circulating online, driven by social media and foreign news outlets. An Oct. 24 TikTok video claimed that Putin, 71, had suffered a heart attack. The video showed footage from a broadcast by Australian news channel 10 News First that cited \"an organization called General SVR,\" which claimed to have \"classified intelligence on the Kremlin.\" TikTok identified this video as part of its efforts to counter inauthentic, misleading or false content. (Read more about PolitiFact\'s partnership with TikTok.) ![](\\" (Screengrab from TikTok) This claim originated on Telegram, a platform known for facilitating the spread of misinformation related to Russia. An Oct. 23 post from the account \"General SVR\" claimed that the night before, security guards found Putin convulsing on his bedroom floor and that doctors were called to resuscitate him. It also claimed that a body double has been appearing in Putin’s place at recent events and meetings. (We used Google Translate to translate the post from Russian to English.) The General SVR post has been viewed more than 730,000 times and forwarded to other channels 24,000 times, according to the Telegram analysis tool TGStat. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 30, 2024 in a post \"Samsung drops out of $1 billion advertising campaign with Olympics.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • August 2, 2024 In the week since the General SVR post was shared, the Telegram account gained 85,000 subscribers and now has a following of more than 453,000, per TGStat. The account was created in 2020, and its author and sources are not identified. The post also has been shared widely on other social media platforms and cited in multiple news outlets worldwide that are known for publishing misleading or unverified reports, including Sky News Australia, The Mirror U.K., the EurAsian Times and the Tribune India. The Kremlin denied claims that Putin was ill. \"Everything is fine with him, this is absolutely another fake,\" Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Oct. 24, per Reuters. \"This belongs to the category of absurd information hoaxes that a whole series of media discuss with enviable tenacity.\" Photos released by Russian media show Putin at meetings and public events in the days following his alleged health emergency. Putin was also seen Oct. 25 on Russian state television directing a nuclear strike drill via a video call, The Associated Press reported. The General SVR Telegram account has shared dubious claims about Putin’s health in the past, including one post last December that was picked up by the U.K.’s Daily Mail about the Russian president falling down stairs. PolitiFact rates claims based on the information known at the time the statement is made. Based on available information, we rate the claim that Putin recently suffered a heart attack False. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources TikTok video (archived), Oct. 24, 2023 Facebook post, Oct. 24, 2023 X post, Oct. 24, 2023 General SVR, Telegram post, Oct. 23, 2023 TGStat, Stats on General SVR’s post, Oct. 23, 2023 TGStat, General SVR, accessed Oct. 30, 2023 Reuters, \"Kremlin says Putin is healthy, laughs off body double rumours,\" Oct. 24, 2023 The Associated Press, \"How a baseless claim about Putin’s health spread from an unreliable Telegram account to TV news,\" Oct. 26, 2023 The Associated Press, \"Experts: Russia finding new ways to spread propaganda videos,\" Oct. 5, 2022 The Associated Press, \"Russian forces simulate nuclear strike as upper house rescinds ratification of test ban treaty,\" Oct. 25, 2023 Politico, \"Putin’s (still) not dead, Kremlin insists,\" Oct. 27, 2023 The Tribune India, \"Russian President Vladimir Putin suffers heart attack, found lying on floor: Reports,\" Oct. 24, 2023 The Eurasian Times, \"Vladimir Putin Suffers A \'Heart Attack\' As Rumors Swirl Over His Ill Health; Kremlin Issues A Statement,\" Oct. 25, 2023 Sky News Australia, \"Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly suffers cardiac arrest in presidential bedroom, an insider group reveals,\" Oct. 24, 2023 The Mirror U.K., \"Vladimir Putin \'resuscitated\' after having \'cardiac arrest\' claims Telegram channel,\" Oct. 23, 2023 The Daily Mail, \"Vladimir Putin \'fell down stairs at his home and soiled himself\',\" Dec. 2, 2022 AP Photos, Photo of Putin, Oct. 23, 2023 AP Photos, Photo of Putin, Oct. 24, 2023 AP Photos, Photo of Putin, Oct. 25, 2023 Getty Images, Photo of Putin, Oct. 26, 2023 Getty Images, Photo of Putin, Oct. 27, 2023 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Sara Swann ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on September 10, 2024 in a debate: “As of today, there is not one member of the United States military who is in active duty in a combat zone, in any war zone around the world, for the first time this century.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Sara Swann • September 11, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on September 7, 2024 in a post: CNN reported that the Apalachee High School shooting suspect was motivated by a “lack of trans acceptance.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sara Swann • September 11, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on September 5, 2024 in a post: Video shows Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz dancing to Beyoncé in a cowboy hat and crop top. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sara Swann • September 6, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on August 31, 2024 in a post: McDonald’s “said they have no record whatsoever of Kamala Harris ever working at any of their locations.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sara Swann • September 5, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 29, 2024 in a post: Vice President Kamala Harris was fired from McDonald’s for stealing. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Sara Swann • September 4, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 26, 2024 in a post: Four government agencies donated nearly $900,000 of taxpayer money to Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sara Swann • September 3, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 25, 2024 in a post: Kamala Harris’ “plan to tax unrecognized Capital Gains mean(s) if your house goes up in value you will have to pay that Tax Even if you don’t sell your House!” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Sara Swann • August 30, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 19, 2024 in a post: Kamala Harris has adopted the Nazi-rooted phrase “Strength Through Joy” as her campaign slogan. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sara Swann • August 26, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on August 6, 2024 in a post: Minnesota Gov. 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Russian President Vladimir Putin suffered a heart attack Oct 22 2023