News site Vice News has discovered that Russian TikTok influencers have reportedly been paid to share videos promoting the narrative of Russian president Vladimir White's administration surrounding the invasion of Ukraine.
An anonymous operator on the Telegram channel has told creators what content to post and when to post, and what goals they should fulfill, and otherwise dictated their content.
At least some creators have more than one million followers as reported by us from Engadget.
It is not clear who was behind the campaign, but the anonymous operator claims to be a journalist and has been looking for posters for additional pro-government content such as supporting Russian athletes at the Olympics and private companies.
However, TikTok's ban on new videos from Russia doesn't seem to be a problem. This anonymous operator tells influencers how to circumvent the ban, and at least some producers have posted videos after the ban took effect.
However, the channel was suddenly shut down on March 9 while Vice was investigating. Most of the videos have since been removed, but the campaign team reportedly asked them to do this.
But it is uncertain how many similar initiatives may be under way. It is also unclear whether the propaganda was effective.
TikTok has yet to comment on the pro-Kremlin campaign and briefed Vice on its general efforts to find emerging threats and dangerous misinformation surrounding Russia's war against Ukraine.
Whether or not the Russian government is involved in this TikTok endeavor, there is little doubt that the country has been trying to control the online narrative in Ukraine.
Russia has blocked social networks such as Instagram, posted misinformation through its embassy accounts, circumvented bans on state news outlets and criminalized media reports that contradict the official stance on the war.
TikTok's huge user base might be a tempting target if Russia hopes to rock more of the internet on its side.