Does a video show illegal immigrants in the UK stealing from the dead by taking things from graves to sell? No, that's not true: The video was first posted by a TikTok account from Ukraine, on April 27, the day the Ukrainian and Eastern Orthodox Churches observe "Thomas Sunday" or "Provody." The specific observance of the tradition varies by region, but a common feature is for bags of sweets to be left on graves as a memorial with the understanding that they will be collected by someone -- children, the poor, or others.
The recaptioned video appeared in a post (archived here) published on X by @TruthFairy131 on Oct. 29, 2025. It was captioned:
Illegal immigrants in the UK go to Cemeteries & steal from the dead. They take the flowers & items left by loved ones then sell them to make money. Nothing is off limits. We cannot coexist with these people.
This is a screenshot of the video from @TruthFairy131 which bears the TikTok watermark of @thebritishinsight:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot from TruthFairy131/status/1983706570828738682.)
This republished video has been formatted with a blue margin for text. On the right and left side of the video (pictured above) there are margins which deceptively include a row of Union Jack flags, the flag of the United Kingdom -- but this video is not from the UK. The added narration is a male voice with a British accent which says in part:
Could there be a clearer sign of moral decay? Floral tributes left in grief and remembrance ripped away and resold by individuals with zero respect for the native people of the country they've settled in.
The original video was posted on TikTok (archived here) by a Ukrainian account, @djoni_game, on April 27, 2025. The video shows people collecting small bags from graves in a Ukrainian cemetery where a Ukrainian flag is visible (pictured below). The names on the gravestones are written in the Ukrainian alphabet derived from Cyrillic. The caption on the @djoni_game video, translated by Google translate, says:
Business on "Provody"
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot from tiktok.com/@djoni_game/video/7497903713802095927.)
In the week after Easter in Ukraine, there are traditions for remembering the dead. Provody is one name, but there are many different names and regional variations in the traditions. A May 9, 2024 article (archived here) from kyiv24.news, reviews the customs and twelve names including; Radunitsa, Babskyi Velikden, Grobki, Graveyards, and Pomana.
An April 24, 2023 article (archived here) in the New York Times describes the Provody traditions of the Orthodox Easter in the village of Staryi Saltiv, Ukraine to the east of Kharkiv. There, the tradition is for the family to have a picnic at the gravesite of the deceased relative. The first photo in the article shows a small plastic goodie bag left on a grave, similar to the bags which are collected in the @djoni_game video.
But for Provody, the day of commemorating the dead, the village came back to life.
Displaced families gathered to walk about the graveyard, carrying flowers and plastic bags of food, stopping to visit acquaintances and exchange pleasantries.
After families leave the graves, children collect the candy there as part of the annual tradition. They ran about on Sunday with bags, finding goodies.
