False report about “Body Worlds” refuted: No use of Ukrainian soldiers’ corpses

A video purporting to be from the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph claimed that a body worlds exhibition in London was canceled because it was displaying illegally acquired corpses of Ukrainian soldiers.

Background: body worlds and their origins

Body Worlds, created by German anatomists Gunther von Hagens and his wife Angelina Whalley, depicts real human bodies preserved through a process called “plastination,” invented by von Hagens in 1977 . This technique has received worldwide attention and is an integral part of the exhibitions.

The hoax in focus

Posts on November 10 on X and Facebook shared the alleged Daily Telegraph video. It claimed an exhibition in London called “Body Worlds: Kyiv” was canceled after the origins of the plastinated bodies were revealed. At Heathrow Airport, 30 exhibits were confiscated because of forged authorization documents, which were later identified as the illicitly sold bodies of Ukrainian military personnel.

Investigation of the claim

We could find no evidence that The Telegraph published such a report. Andy King, a compliance officer at the Telegraph, confirmed to Reuters by email that the video was not published by the newspaper. He also pointed out that the font used in the Telegraph's video posts was different. Georgia Gomez, director of development at Body Worlds and von Hagens Plastination, stated that the claims about the company were false and emphasized that Body Worlds relies solely on body donations for its plastination program and has never received body donors from Ukraine.

Many publications also state that work on one of the exhibits can take up to a year. It is therefore impossible for 30 exhibits to have been completed since February 2022. This also makes the authenticity of the video unlikely.

Official statements and denials

Both the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation and Britain's Home Office , which oversees border controls, denied the claims. It is important to emphasize that no Body Worlds exhibition is planned in London or elsewhere in the UK and that the quotes attributed to Hagens have been declared “completely false”.

Conclusion:

The rumor that Body Worlds used illegally acquired corpses of Ukrainian soldiers in its London exhibition is false. Both The Daily Telegraph and Body Worlds have denied these allegations and there is no substantive evidence to support this claim. This case shows how important it is to critically examine news and rely on reliable sources.

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