The actor has made donations to several humanitarian groups
Leonardo DiCaprio is said to have made donations to humanitarian organisations supporting Ukraine after earlier reports falsely suggested he had contributed £7.6m to the country.
On March 8, Polish News published a non-deleted story saying that DiCaprio donated $10m (£7.6m) to his grandmother’s native country of Ukraine, which has been fighting a Russian invasion since February 24.
The news was widely covered, including by Joe.co.uk.
The Associated Press has since quoted a person close to the 47-year-old actor, speaking on condition of anonymity, saying that neither DiCaprio’s donation nor the details of his heritage were accurate.
The original report claimed DiCaprio had a personal connection to Ukraine, as his maternal grandmother Helene Indenbirken was born in Odesa.
The incorrect report also noted that DiCaprio’s donation was announced by the International Visegrad Fund (IVF). The fund has since told The Independent that they are “not aware” of any such announcement. It also mentioned the false story in a Facebook post.
The AP source did, however, go on to say that the A-lister had donated to the humanitarian groups CARE, International Rescue Committee, the United Nation‘s High Commissioner for Refugees, and Save the Children in support of Ukraine.
It is not known how much DiCaprio donated.
JOE apologies for the errors made in the original story and acknowledges mistakes were made in verifying the information.
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