Celebrities Unknowingly Enlisted in Russian Propaganda Campaign via Cameo App

Russian propagandists have been exploiting celebrity videos from the popular platform Cameo to spread disinformation, according to cybersecurity researchers at Microsoft. The videos, featuring celebrities such as Elijah Wood and Mike Tyson, were deceptively edited to push anti-Ukraine propaganda, with the celebrities unaware of the manipulation. The edited videos, which included emojis and links, were widely shared on pro-Russian social media accounts and amplified by state-backed Russian media outlets, falsely portraying them as messages appealing directly to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Microsoft researchers observed at least seven manipulated celebrity video messages since late July 2023, and Cameo stated that such videos would violate their community guidelines.