A Russian botnet spreads ‘fake’ videos of actors pushing pro-Kremlin narratives

With peace negotiations on the table, the future looms bleak for Ukrainianssince Russia, little by little, gains ground in the east of the country due to the lack of military support from Donald Trump – who has left that responsibility in the hands of the European partners – and in the tripartite negotiations with Moscow and Washington forces kyiv to accept complicated concessions.

Throughout these four years, the hoaxes and successive disinformation campaigns They have been a constant.

On #UkraineFacts, a collaborative foundation powered by fact-checker spanish Maldita.es and in which more than 100 organizations have participated fact-checking From 88 countries, more than 3,000 disinformative contents were registered on this topic.

It is a fact that the artificial intelligence (AI) is booming and present almost daily in our lives. However, it becomes a double-edged sword. Now, AI plays a fundamental role in disinformation content in general and about the war in Ukraine in particular.

With this technology, publications that attempt to manipulate not only citizens but also future combatants.

The latest “feat” seen on X and TikTok is a coordinated campaign that spreads manipulated videos of actors under the hashtag #HollywoodagainstZelensky to push pro-Kremlin narratives and weaken European support for Ukraine.

These are videos generated by artificial intelligence in which Hollywood stars appear urging European leaders to pressure Ukraine to accept peace deal on the terms proposed by Russia.

Several videos were spread on X and Telegram by accounts without followers or biographical information and with generic usernames, but which They were shared massively and accumulated hundreds of likes. before they were removed from TikTok and X. However, The Cube, the fact-checking team of euronews, He located them and showed them before they disappeared.

In the publications there were supposed personalized messages from celebrities, including American actors. Gabriella Pizzolo —known for her role in Stranger Things—, Nikki Blonsky —protagonist in the film Hairspray— y Jon Seda —participant in Gladiator and in the series Homicide—.

The one starring Pizzolo used a clip of his uploaded to the Cameo platform, where celebrities can offer and sell personalized messages to their fans.

The publication begins with a real fragment before images of war appear from Ukraine accompanied by a manipulated voiceover which accuses European leaders of committing tax fraud to support kyiv.

Blonsky charges against the Ukrainian president and sentences that “Helping President Zelensky will leave a bloody stain in the history of Europe and the United States.

The manipulated video of the actress encourages viewers to support the #HollywoodagainstZelensky campaign. “So I ask everyone who supported Zelensky, the thief and the guy who ruined our economy, to join the Hollywood campaign against Zelensky,” Blonsky said.

Likewise, it requires that “Zelensky is forced to sign a peace treaty and Ukraine returns the money wasted on it”.

All these publications do not appear on verified social media accounts of the celebrities involved. They have been shared amid Zelensky’s frustration over US-brokered peace talks with Russia as the war enters its fifth year.

The campaign

The accounts that spread the manipulated videos shared an unresponsive and unregistered website, according to researchers from the Antibot4Navalny collective, which studies cyber networks. bots in Russia and other countries.

According to them, the person who introduced the campaign on social networks was ‘Matryoshka’, una red de bots aligned with the Russian state.