Russian Propagandists Weaponised Celeb Cameo Videos Against Ukraine: Report

Russia has reportedly deceived multiple Hollywood actors into unwittingly contributing to a disinformation campaign against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

A recent report by Microsoft's Threat Analysis Center highlighted how celebrities, like actor Elijah Wood, known for playing Frodo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings movies, can been seen sending messages to Zelenskyy, urging him to seek assistance for substance use.

According to the report, other celebrities like Priscilla Presley, the US Office actress Kate Flannery, Breaking Bad actor Dean Norris, John C McGinley from Scrubs and boxer Mike Tyson, also had their Cameo videos misused to target the Ukrainian leader.

Russia has often tried to depict Ukrainian leaders as substance users in order to gain support in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, with President Vladimir Putin having called Zelenskyy a "drug-addict" in the past.

Cameo, which rose in popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic, allows users to pay celebrities and public figures for customised recorded messages.

The Microsoft report indicates that the celebrities in the videos were likely approached by a Cameo user to send a message to an individual named "Vladimir," urging him to seek help for alcoholism and drug abuse.

Their videos were later repurposed and modified, with emojis and logos of media outlets doctored into the frames, to then be circulated through Russian government-affiliated outlets.

A Cameo spokesperson told CNN that these videos “would violate Cameo’s Community Guidelines, and in cases where such violations are substantiated Cameo will typically take steps to remove the problematic content and suspend the purchaser’s account to help prevent further issues.”