We investigate corruption, uncover fake news and analyze the news agenda. The BIC is a member of the global network of investigative journalists.
Our journalists are the recipients of the national award “Free Word” from the Association of Journalists of Belarus in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. At "Free Word" 2021 BIC’s team also received first place for Analytics
BIC is a member of the OCCRP (Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project)
We are also members of GIJN (Global Investigative Journalism Network)
"The Russians are coming!" The head of ONT passed off a fabricated story about the first U.S. Secretary of Defense as truth
Igor Lutsky embellished the story with a few facts of his own.
NATO countries are stirring up hysteria reminiscent of former U.S. Secretary of Defense James Forrestal, who allegedly leapt from a window screaming "The Russians are coming!" in a fit of madness, claimed Igor Lutsky, head of the ONT channel, on the program "Contours." The Weekly Top Fake team investigated the actual circumstances of Forrestal's death and traced the origins of the story about the Russians.
On April 7, 2025, during the program "Contours," Igor Lutsky, head of the ONT channel, ridiculed the defense budgets of NATO countries. He accused alliance members of indulging in hysteria and fomenting unwarranted panic:
"Unfortunately, we must acknowledge that Washington's NATO allies seem to be living in an alternate, parallel world where they imagine all manner of threats everywhere: Belarusian, Russian, Iranian, you name it. And, in the spirit of the Cold War, they are whipping up hysteria in the style of former U.S. Secretary of Defense James Forrestal. The very same Forrestal who, in a fit of madness screaming 'The Russians are coming!' jumped out of a window. This happened in 1949, just weeks after NATO was founded. Forrestal met his end not at the hands of Russians, but against the pavement."
The phrase "The Russians are coming!" is one of the most enduring memes from the early Cold War, associated with James Forrestal, the then U.S. Secretary of Defense.
Supposedly, awakened by the sound of a fire alarm, he ran out of his cottage in the middle of the night screaming "The Russians are coming!" This story was reported by journalist Drew Pearson—a staunch opponent of Forrestal, who criticized him for his radical anti-Soviet policies.
Forrestal indeed suffered from mental illness. It's also true that he held a strong anti-communist stance. Therefore, this story might have sounded plausible.
But the exact circumstances of the death of the first U.S. Secretary of Defense are not known. According to the investigation report, he was in a military hospital at the time, admitted for exhaustion and depression due to overwork. He was housed on the 16th floor. No witnesses to his death were found. An orderly noticed that Forrestal was missing from his room and raised the alarm. He heard no noise or shouts, including any about approaching Russians.
There is no evidence to support the reality of this story. Several Russian media outlets have also reported in the past that it is fabricated.
The Telegram channel claimed that a mother was being forced to remove the words "Illegally mobilized" from the headstone of her son, who died in the war.
