WTF?! Professional-Russian propaganda campaigns are nothing new, however that is the primary one we have heard of that recruited Hollywood stars corresponding to Elijah Wooden with out their data. The actors didn’t know that their clips, created on platforms like Cameo, can be edited to falsely depict Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a drug addict.
Microsoft reviews that since July 2023, Russia-aligned actors have been utilizing platforms corresponding to Cameo, the place well-known (and never so well-known) people document personalised messages corresponding to birthday needs for individuals. In these cases, the companies had been utilized for propaganda functions.
The marketing campaign concerned asking the celebs to ship a message to somebody known as “Vladimir,” pleading with him to hunt assist for substance abuse.
The movies had been edited to incorporate emojis, hyperlinks, and overlays to make them seem as in the event that they got here instantly from the celebrities’ personal social media accounts. The doctored clips had been then shared throughout Russian social media, an try to push Russia’s long-claimed false narrative that Ukrainian chief Volodymyr Zelensky struggles with substance abuse.
Among the movies characteristic high-profile celebs. Microsoft Risk Evaluation Middle says it has noticed seven of those since late July 2023, that includes Elijah Wooden (Lord of the Rings), Dean Norris (Breaking Unhealthy), John McGinley from Scrubs, musician Shavo Odadjian, Kate Flannery (The Workplace), and Priscilla Presley.
Russian state-owned media outlet RIA Novosti revealed a story in August after McGinley’s video began gaining traction, portraying the clip as real. “Over the previous yr, booze and medicines have grow to be your greatest mates, I perceive. An important piece of recommendation I can provide you on this case is that the one means out is kindness,” the actor stated, unaware who “Vladimir” was.
The movies had been doctored to extend their legitimacy by including the Ukrainian flag and tagging Zelensky’s Instagram account, all of which made the audio system appear to be they had been addressing Ukraine’s president.
Russia has been embracing the realm of digital propaganda because it invaded Ukraine virtually two years in the past. Disinformation-spreading Russian bot farms are continuously being seized by Ukrainian authorities, and we have even seen pro-Russian sentiment seem in video games corresponding to Roblox, Minecraft, World of Tanks, World of Warships, Fly Corp, Armored Warfare, and Conflict Thunder.