Hollywood actors including Elijah Wood ‘have become unwitting stooges aiding Putin’s Ukraine propaganda as Russia edits their Cameo video messages into propaganda’

Hollywood stars including Elijah Wood and Mike Tyson are unwittingly being used by Russia to “fuel anti-Ukrainian propaganda” as part of a coordinated disinformation campaign, Microsoft's latest Threat Intelligence report has revealed.

Microsoft discovered that an “unknown Russia-targeted influence actor” this year hired famous actors on the popular video-sharing site Cameo to record messages that could be taken out of context to undermine support for Ukraine.

“Starting in July 2023, pro-Russian social media channels began distributing celebrity videos, which were deceptively edited to promote anti-Ukrainian propaganda.

'The short video messages, which often feature celebrities pleading with 'Vladimir' to seek help for substance abuse, have been edited by the unknown actor with emojis and links.

“Videos are circulating through pro-Russian social media communities and amplified by Russian state and state-run media, falsely portraying them as messages to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.”

“Kremlin officials and Russian state-sponsored propaganda have long promoted the false claim that President Zelensky struggles with substance abuse; However, this campaign marks a new approach by pro-Russian actors seeking to advance the narrative in the online information space,” said a Security Insider. memo concluded.

Actors Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings), Dean Norris (Breaking Bad), Kate Flannery (The Office) and Priscilla Presley (Elvis's ex-wife); musician Shavo Odadjian; and boxer Mike Tyson were named as some of the campaign's victims.

Microsoft concluded that Russian state actors paid celebrities to record personalized messages that could later be taken out of context and used this year as part of a disinformation campaign

Vladimir Putin looks on as he holds a meeting of the Supervisory Board of the Russia – Land of Opportunity platform at the Catherine's Hall of the Kremlin in Moscow on April 20, 2022.

Ukrainian military soldiers shoot from the MT-12 or 2A29 gun 'Rapira' is a Soviet 100mm smoothbore anti-tank gun on December 7, 2023 in Avdiivka, Ukraine

Both Ukraine and Russia have recently claimed gains in Avdiivka, where Russia continues a long-running campaign to capture the city in Ukraine's Donetsk region.

A tweet from the now-deleted

In a fact-check report of the video, which has reportedly been viewed 837,000 times, Newsweek reports concluded there were “several signs from the video that confirmed with near certainty that Wood did not urge Zelensky to go to rehab.”

American actor Elijah Wood, known for his role as Frodo Baggins in Lord of the Rings, was among those believed to have been targeted by the misleading campaign

Newsweek noted that Wood said Vladimir, not Volodymyr, claimed in the since-deleted video that the video was heavily edited, and noted that Wood never mentions Zelensky or Ukraine.

“There's no clear message in it other than Wood telling someone named Vladimir to get help.”

Elijah Wood has previously spoken out in support of Ukraine after the February 2022 invasion.

Microsofts 2023 annual reportwhich delves deeply into online security trends, concluded that this year “Russian state actors have expanded the scope of their war-related cyber and influence operations in Ukraine to target Kiev's allies,” using “a variety of means – from phishing campaigns to zero-days' to 'Intimidate the Ukrainian diaspora and encourage protest movements across Europe'.

The report shows that 48 percent of Russian state and affiliated intrusions since July last year targeted Ukrainian organizations, while most of the remainder targeted organizations in NATO member states. Great Britain, the United States and Poland were 'mainly' in the spotlight.

Governments were the most common targets at 27 percent, followed by think tanks and NGOs at 21 percent and education at 11 percent.

In some cases, this included phishing campaigns in which state actors posed as Western diplomats and Ukrainian officials to gain access to accounts that may contain insights into Western foreign policy toward Ukraine, Microsoft alleged.

They also discovered that Forest Blizzard, a state actor, had exploited Exchange Web Services to steal data from email accounts at energy, defense and air transport organizations in countries sending aid to Ukraine.

Elsewhere, they found that Russian threat groups were actively working to “sow distrust between the Ukrainian people and the European partners supporting Kiev,” at both state and citizen levels.

Beginning in January, Microsoft discovered that Russian actors had sent emails and fake documents to spread a false narrative that state officials might seek forcible repatriation of Ukrainians or enlist European citizens into the war in Ukraine in an effort to boost support for the war in neighboring Poland. Including Latvia and Lithuania.

The use of Cameo appeared to be a “new” campaign to influence the narrative surrounding the war, Microsoft noted.

Cameo is a popular service that allows users to pay celebrities to record personalized messages, often to wish a fan a happy birthday or share a good luck message. More than 50 million people worldwide claimed to be creators in 2022.

Vladimir Putin stands in a room ahead of a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart at the Moscow Kremlin on March 11, 2022

Ukrainian soldiers of an army aviation brigade prepare a Mi-8 helicopter to fly in the Donetsk region on December 7, 2023

Ukrainian soldiers walk through the destroyed city in Avdiivka, Ukraine on December 7, 2023

Group portrait of three Ukrainian soldiers on December 7, 2023 in Avdiivka, Ukraine

A Ukrainian soldier smokes during a break on December 7 in Avdiivka, Ukraine

Microsoft suggested that lessons could be learned from the findings, by encouraging phishing-resistant authentication methods and educating users more broadly about authenticating external communication attempts and being careful about what they share.

Earlier this year, France unveiled an extensive Russian disinformation campaign also aimed at undermining Western support for Ukraine.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna cited the involvement of Russian embassies and cultural centers in boosting the campaign, which she said is illustrative of the hybrid strategy Russia is implementing to undermine the conditions for democratic debate.

Viginum reported that the campaign consisted of spreading pro-Russian content, impersonating reputable media outlets and government websites, creating French-language news websites with polarizing angles, and coordinating fake accounts to spread the content.