Russian bots with a Kremlin disinformation network published 120,000 fake anti-Ukraine quotes falsely attributed to celebrities, including Jennifer Aniston and Scarlett Johansson, in one day, the independent Russian media outlet Agentsvo reported June 15.

Quotes appeared over celebrity photos, displaying messages calling to end aid to Ukraine and describing European collapse.

The images were published between June 14-15 by the Kremlin disinformation network Dvoynyk, a representative of the Bot Blocker project told Agentsvo. The fake quotes have since garnered over 500,000 views.

MBFC
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  • Transporter Room 3@startrek.website
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    5 months ago

    Do… Do people care what the REAL scarlet Johansson, Jennifer Aniston or Elton John have to say about Ukraine defending itself and it’s people against a fascist invasion?

    I mean, I find their stuff entertaining, sure, but like… Why would I listen to their tactical analysis in the first place?

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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      5 months ago

      Of course people are swayed by celebrities. I’m surprised you even have to ask that. Celebrity worship is huge in Western culture. Taylor Swift told her fans to register to vote and thousands did just because she said so.

        • fuckingkangaroos@lemm.ee
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          5 months ago

          I think they already did. There were rumors she would support Biden and I thought “will she get Kremlin shills attacking her on social media?” Over the next few weeks there was a bunch of noise about her private jet.

      • Socsa@sh.itjust.works
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        5 months ago

        It’s the same thing as putting typos in phishing emails so you only target stupid people.

    • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      I mean, Jennifer Anniston and Taylor Swift DID lead the armies in the congo jungles against the contra groups of the 1980s…They have military experience!!!

    • rammer@sopuli.xyz
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      5 months ago

      Yes!

      As stupid as it sounds people trust them more than the experts. We live in the post truth times anyway.

    • Netrunner@programming.dev
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      5 months ago

      Yes they do. A few weeks ago everyone on here cared what George clooneys wife was saying about Israel.

      • ShawiniganHandshake@sh.itjust.works
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        5 months ago

        You mean Amal Clooney, the international Human Rights Lawyer? The adjunct professor of law at Columbia University? Advisor to the International Criminal Court? That Amal Clooney?

        The fact that she’s married to a celebrity is the least interesting thing about her in the context of Israel and the ICC.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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          5 months ago

          And I will once again say that the actor should be referred to as “Amal Clooney’s husband” rather than the other way around.

          • CitizenKong@lemmy.world
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            5 months ago

            My favourite description under a picture of the two in a (German) newspaper read (paraphrased): Civil right’s attorney Amal Clooney and her husband, an actor.

              • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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                5 months ago

                Through the use of satellite imagery, SSP provides an early warning system to deter mass atrocities in a given situation by focusing world attention and generating rapid responses to human rights and human security concerns taking place in that situation.

                SSP was the first to provide evidence consistent with the razing of the villages of Maker Abior, Todach, and Tajalei in the Abyei region of Sudan, and the project has discovered eight alleged mass graves in South Kordofan, Sudan.

                Did you think we wouldn’t look at your link or do you think trying to get attention and a rapid response to atrocities is a bad thing?

                  • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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                    5 months ago

                    Calling it a spy satellite implies it’s doing something nefarious. It’s not. Calling it something like a monitoring satellite would be more accurate because it’s doing the same thing for human rights that a weather monitoring satellite is doing for warning people about hurricanes.

          • skulblaka@startrek.website
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            5 months ago

            Plenty of people knew who she was before. You didn’t, because you don’t pay attention to international human rights struggles.