Russians trick celebrities into filming anti-Ukraine propaganda

Supporters of President Putin are tricking celebrities, including the actor Elijah Wood, Mike Tyson and Priscilla Presley into pushing Russian propaganda online, a report has claimed.

Since July 2023 Moscow-aligned groups have been targeting well-known influencers on video message websites, getting them to record clips to someone called “Vladimir”.

These messages are then modified, edited and pushed through Russian social media to advance longstanding false claims that President Zelensky is a drug addict and to diminish support for Ukraine.

The report, from the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center, also claimed that John C McGinley, who starred in the TV show Scrubs, had unwittingly recorded messages.

They said the celebrities were targeted through websites such as Cameo, where people can pay to have a personalised video