Curses! Those cunning Ukrainian disinformation agents have smoked out the plot!
Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation has accused the viral pop song ‘Sigma Boy’ of being part of an “information war” aimed at promoting a positive image of Russia among young people.
Sigma Boy, performed by 11-year-old Betsy (Svetlana Chertishcheva) and 12-year-old Maria Yankovskaya, has gained attention on TikTok and other platforms since its release in October 2024. The track has reached the top ten on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, peaking at seventh place, and has accumulated millions of views.
Ukraine’s disinformation watchdog, which operates under the National Security and Defense Council, has claimed that Moscow could have manipulated the song’s popularity, drawing comparisons to alleged Kremlin interference in the 2016 US elections. The agency has argued that Sigma Boy “erodes critical perceptions of Russian content” and helps normalize the nation’s cultural influence abroad.
“Sigma, sigma boy, sigma boy, sigma boy
Every girl wants to dance with you
Sigma, sigma boy, sigma boy, sigma boy
I’m so special, it will take you a year to win me.”
I’m pretty sure that under ASCAP’s rules I qualify for a writer’s credit on that one. I mean, I wrote nearly one-quarter of the lyrics.