Foreign interests attempt to utilize American social media influencers:
Ukraine’s government-backed United24 project offered former US service members thousands of dollars to produce pro-Ukraine videos for American audiences, RT’s America Now has found. The offers targeted veterans whose military backgrounds could make the message seem more credible to viewers.
Host Ben Swann and investigative journalist Elizabeth Lane examined how the project, launched by Vladimir Zelensky in 2022 to raise support for Ukraine, approached former personnel, including special operations veterans with YouTube channels and other media platforms.
According to veterans who reached out to Lane, United24 offered around $10,000 for each video, plus $40,000 in advertising support. There was no stated limit on the number of videos they could make. The project would also provide scripts and guidance, while the veterans would ultimately deliver praise for Ukraine and Zelensky in their own words.
Some creators who agreed to the deal were reportedly creating up to five or six videos a week, making nearly a quarter of a million dollars a month, Lane found. The men who spoke with Lane said they themselves had turned down the money, recognizing that they were being asked to present paid propaganda as their own views.
However, for some, the refusal came with consequences beyond lost income. One veteran, who turned down the offer and later criticized Ukraine for wasting US money on his channel, had people contacting his employer, calling him a Russian agent, and trying to get him fired.
Full disclosure: the only foreign interest that has ever offered any support for me was China’s English language television station. They offered me a show, which in retrospect I probably should have agreed to do. I turned it down, in part because UATV was starting to roll, but also because I didn’t want people trying to to dismiss me as some sort of Chinese shill.
As it turned out, they do that anyhow on the basis of me sharing my observations without any compensation. Of course, it’s a lot different openly doing a show on a network and secretly taking money to advertise someone else’s perspective.