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)
'ZhS Premium' Ridicules Tsikhanouskaya's Claims About Thousands of Belarusians in Chicago as 'Nonsense'
The largest population of Belarusians is in New York, with about 20,000.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, resulting in her visit to the U.S., made a public statement about thousands of Belarusians living in Chicago. The Belarus pro-government Telegram channel "ZhS Premium" mocked her words. The Weekly Top Fake team found out who actually posted 'such nonsense.'
In late September 2024, Tsikhanouskaya met with representatives of the Belarusian diaspora in the U.S. She shared on social media platform X that thousands of Belarusians live in Chicago. The video accompanying her post showed several dozen participants at the meeting.
The authors of the Telegram channel ‘ZhS Premium’ published a screenshot of Tsyhankovskaya’s post, labeling her words nonsense.
“‘Thousands of Belarusians in Chicago’ on the line. All these thousands you see on your screens right now. Yes, it's really bad for the fugitives with the agenda, since they have to write such nonsense,” the Telegram channel’s authors claimed.
According to the American Migration Policy Institute, in 2022, just over 70 thousand Belarusians lived in the United States, which corresponds to the population of Zhlobin. Six thousand of them are in the Chicago metropolitan area.
The largest population of Belarusians is in New York, with about 20,000. Philadelphia ranks third, with approximately 3,000.