What Is The 'Russian Meat Cube' And Is It Real? The Disturbing 'Mobik Meat Cube' Theory Explained

A new conspiracy theory relating to the Russian invasion of Ukraine is going viral and grossing people out across social media. The theory surrounds a mysterious cube of compressed "meat" that was left on the side of a road in Russia that has now been nicknamed the "Mobik Meat Cube" or "Russian Meat Cube."

According to the theory, the cube is made up of the remains of people who have died at war as a barbaric way of discarding the bodies. But is it real? Here's the story.

What Is The 'Mobik Meat Cube?'

In early July 2023, a set of photographs were uploaded to a popular Telegram channel that shows a leaking cube of what appears to be spoiled remains or organs wrapped in plastic. The caption accompanying the photos claims that the cube was left on a road in the Shebekinsky district of Belgorod oblast, Russia, also claiming it smells terrible.

Although the post doesn't directly claim that the cube is made up of bodies, one part of the caption reads, "I wonder what or who can be pressed here?" setting off alarms among conspiracy theorists. The story and photos quickly spread to 4chan, followed by the rest of social media, as people began investigating the origins of the photos and trying to determine what exactly they were looking at.

Is The 'Russian Meat Cube' Real?

While the photos of the Mobik Meat Cube appear to be real, there is no confirmation that it is actually a compressed pile of people. In fact, there are a few claims that run counter to that narrative suggesting that the cube is spoiled dog food that was offered as humanitarian aid, but went bad and had to be discarded.

The main source for these claims appears to be a translated Telegram post claiming that journalists reached out to the owners of an animal shelter, who allegedly claimed the cube was made up of discarded liver and intestines that were donated to the shelter. According to the shelter representative, they "didn't know what to do" with the spoiled meat and nobody was willing to help them dispose of it, so they simply had to dump it.

Of course, not everyone invested in the mystery of the Russian Meat Cube is willing to accept this answer. Some are keeping the theory alive with claims that there are no shelters or meat processing plants around the site of the cube despite the alleged statement, while others work hard to debunk the bodies theory by sharing the dog food theory.

Others still are making memes out of the whole situation, editing the meat cube into more comedic contexts for a quick laugh. Whatever the answer, someone definitely needs to get out there and clean up that cube. The most believable claim to come of all this is definitely that it smells bad.

For the full history of the Mobik Meat Cube, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.