cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/3716282
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The ongoing Russian occupation of Ukrainian regions raises concerns about Russia’s strategy to socially and culturally integrate the population in the occupied territories. The DFRLab and OpenMinds recently published a report, Digital occupation: Pro-Russian bot networks target Ukraine’s occupied territories on Telegram, which examines how integration is promoted and supported by Telegram bot comments that manufacture public acceptance of Russia and the occupation, while seeking to create distrust towards the Ukrainian government.
Similar behavior is also unfolding on other platforms, albeit tailored to each platform’s infrastructure. On TikTok, for instance, pro-Russian actors capitalize on the platform’s audiovisual features. Videos that pan through allegedly rebuilt cities in occupied eastern and southern Ukraine rely on the power of visual persuasion—after all, seeing is believing. TikTok’s preference for direct-to-camera influencer-style content has also been repurposed to promote Russian narratives. In 2024, an organization tied to the Kremlin, the Donbass Mediacenter, launched a specialized school for bloggers, specifically targeting influencers operating in the occupied territories. These schools help new creators develop skills to establish an audience while ensuring their content reflects the Kremlin’s messaging on key topics. The practice of using influencers local to the occupied territories to reach a more niche audience is not new; Russia has used Instagram and YouTube to advertise the alleged benefits of life in the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republic since the initial occupation in 2014.
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Following the Russian army’s occupation of [the Ukrainian city of] Mariupol and the establishment of an occupation administration, an ecosystem of influencers emerged in the city. Their videos promote the idea that the city is undergoing a successful renovation, that the quality of life is significantly higher than it was under Ukrainian management, and that the Russian government and the newly established local administrations are responsible for this improvement.
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Ukrainian and Western media outlets have reported on the reconstruction efforts [in Mariupol], noting that much of the city remains in ruins, but any messaging disparaging Russia is seen as suspicious by those with pro-Russian tendencies. Even among those who support Ukraine, anonymized witness testimonies can carry less evidentiary weight than satellite images or video documentation. Providing a systematic account of the current state of infrastructure in Mariupol, featuring ample evidence and unbiased assessment, is currently not possible, as even if international organizations were allowed into the city.
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Occasionally, other accounts on TikTok showcase parts of the city not typically featured in propagandist content, painting a picture of destruction and a lack of progress in reconstruction. These accounts, however, are few and far between, due to a fear of surveillance and punishment.
At times, however, even the propagandist accounts and videos contradict themselves, accidentally showing damaged and abandoned buildings in the background while showcasing the newest public square.
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Russia, through its complex system of control over the information environment in the occupied territories, which includes local micro influencers, actively makes use of this environment of uncertainty, promoting the publication of multiple videos showing the image of Mariupol it wishes to be out there in the world and capitalizing on the fact that these are some of the only photos and videos available to the average user. Additionally, this content crowds out any videos showing the less curated parts of town, which are not yet reconstructed or have been entirely abandoned due to excessive damage. For those already skeptical of the Ukrainian government or sympathetic to Russia, such content may solidify existing biases. For more neutral observers, it could introduce the initial seed of skepticism.