Become a Member ![\\"snopes](\\"/design/images/logo-main.png\\"/) Search My Profile Logout Submit a Rumor Latest Trending News & Politics Entertainment Fact Checks Quiz Sections Latest Trending Fact Checks News Collections More Contact Us Submit a Rumor Archives Quiz FactBot Newsletters About Us Categories News & Politics Entertainment Science & Technology Lifestyle Free accounts support our journalism Become a Member Login My Profile Logout ![\\"republican_symbol\\"](\\"/design/images/republican_symbol.png\\"/) Snopes fact-checked the vice presidential debate live! Read more here ![\\"democrat_symbol\\"](\\"/design/images/democrat_symbol.png\\"/) Fact Check # Yes, Elon Musk Was Photographed with Russian State TV Personality at 2022 World Cup ## It didn\'t seem like he knew who she was, though. ### Bethania Palma ### Published Dec. 20, 2022 ![\\"\\"](\\" Claim: Twitter CEO Elon Musk was photographed with Russian state TV personality Nailya Asker-Zade at the 2022 World Cup. Rating: True About this rating Context Although it\'s true Musk was photographed with Asker-Zade, there\'s no evidence he knew who she was when he posed for the picture. Advertisement: Twitter CEO Elon Musk was photographed at the final World Cup game on Dec. 18, 2022, with Nailya Asker-Zade, a Russian state television personality pictured above moments before asking him for a selfie. Asker-Zade had been sanctioned by Canada and the U.K. over her alleged corruption and ties to state banker Andrey Kostin, and her role spreading Russian war propaganda amid its invasion and offensive against Ukraine. Asker-Zade posted the selfie she took with Musk on the platform Telegram. The image was taken at the World Cup finale in Qatar, a game that saw Argentina triumph over France. Asker-Zade wasn\'t the only prominent international figure Musk encountered at the game, according to NPR journalist David Gura: Advertisement: Whether Musk knew who Asker-Zade was when he agreed to be in the selfie is unknown. In video from another angle of the events leading up to the selfie, Musk appeared to be talking to someone else, then briefly paused to pose and allow Asker-Zade to snap the photograph. The Anti-Corruption Foundation, an organization founded by Alexei Navalny, an opposition figure in Russia who often serves as a political challenger to Russian President Vladimir Putin and who has been imprisoned in Russia, acknowledged that Musk \"hopefully\" didn\'t know who Asker-Zade was when he posed for the picture. Advertisement: We reached out to Twitter asking if the company\'s CEO was aware of who he was talking to when the picture was taken, and will update this story when and if we receive a response. #### Sources \"Nailya Vagif Kyzy Asker-Zade.\" OpenSanctions.org Accessed 20 Dec. 2022. \"Navalny: Russian Opposition Leader Navalny Moved to Solitary Confinement.\" BBC News, 18 Nov. 2022. europe-63671942. ### By Bethania Palma Bethania Palma is a journalist from the Los Angeles area who has been working in the news industry since 2006. ## Article Tags Elon Musk Vladimir Putin Recommendations Advertisement: ![\\"Snopes.com\\"](\\"/design/images/logo-main.png\\") Company About Us FAQs Contact Us Submit a Topic Navigate Home Search Archive Newsletters Random Sections Latest Top Fact Checks News Account Join Login Game FactBot Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter © 1995 - 2024 by Snopes Media Group Inc. This material may not be reproduced without permission. Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com Terms of Use Privacy Policy DMCA Policy
Twitter CEO Elon Musk was photographed with Russian state TV personality Nailya AskerZade at the 2022 World Cup