The key facts
- Teenagers were offered a reward of about $1500 in cryptocurrency for videos about the situation in Alyoshki
- In September, a similar scheme was used in the flash mob 'A Cat Named Svoboda'
- An account targeting an audience of 10–14 year olds gained 8 thousand followers on TikTok in two days, then the pages disappeared
Children were offered money for provocative videos
Russian schoolchildren have begun to be recruited into information campaigns, offering them large sums for posting provocative videos on social media. As reported by KP.ru and Life.ru, bloggers were offered a reward in cryptocurrency worth about 1500 dollars for spreading messages about the situation in Alyoshki, Kherson region.
Videos about hunger on TikTok
In early October, a series of videos appeared on TikTok in which teenagers spoke about hunger in the city and blamed the Russian side for the dire situation of residents. The authors of the videos also claimed that Ukrainian military had allegedly delivered four tons of food to Alyoshki using drones.
The flash mob 'A Cat Named Svoboda'
A similar scheme, according to the outlets, was already used in September during the internet flash mob 'A Cat Named Svoboda'. Teenagers were asked to go out into the streets and pretend they were looking for a missing animal, shouting out its name; behind the game was an attempt to organize a political action involving minors. One of the participants — a 14-year-old Muscovite — went to the action but was late: police stopped her, checked her phone, and advised her to return home.
AI videos and vanished accounts
Short videos were used to promote the flash mob, including ones created with the help of artificial intelligence. According to the outlet, one of the accounts, aimed at an audience of 10–14 year olds, gained eight thousand followers on TikTok and two thousand on Telegram in just two days. Shortly before the action, the original pages disappeared.
Expert opinion
An information security specialist under the pseudonym 'Karbyshev' believes that the organizers of the campaigns are deliberately switching to younger teenagers, exploiting their gullibility, desire to earn money, and insufficient understanding of the consequences. He called for identifying the organizers, seeking account blocking, and explaining to children the danger of such offers, while noting the importance of distinguishing minors who have fallen under someone else's influence for the first time from deliberate organizers. 'The favorite phrase of the organizers of information attacks:
