Russian propaganda is using the Fixies and Masha and the Bear against Ukraine
Russian propaganda is circulating videos created using artificial intelligence in which characters from popular cartoons kill Ukrainians. Among the characters used in these videos are characters from “Masha and the Bear,” “Fixiki,” and other animated series. The Center for Countering Disinformation warns that Russia is using this method to spread hatred toward Ukrainians and justify violence.
Russia is using cartoon characters familiar to children to create propaganda videos against Ukraine. Videos generated using artificial intelligence are appearing on social media. In them, characters from popular animated series are depicted as if they were killing Ukrainians.
According to the Center, characters from the animated series “Masha and the Bear,” “Fixiki,” and other well-known animated projects are used in these videos. Ukrainians are depicted in a caricatured manner in the videos, and the scenes themselves contain violence.
How Children’s Cartoons Become a Propaganda Tool
The CPD notes that this is part of a Russian propaganda campaign. Its goal is to spread hostility toward Ukrainians and create a justification for war. To this end, Russian creators use images that many people know well and recognize from their childhood. Cartoons are usually perceived as entertainment, especially when they feature characters popular among children. However, in these videos, familiar characters appear as participants in violent scenes. In this way, the entertainment format is used to spread hatred and normalize violence.
The Center emphasizes that the characters’ recognizability helps draw attention to such content. A person might come across a video because of a familiar character, without even expecting to see propaganda or scenes of murder.
Why such videos can be dangerous for children
Of particular concern is that such content may reach a child audience. Children are used to seeing these characters in cartoons that have nothing to do with war. Therefore, the appearance of familiar characters in violent scenes can blur the line between entertainment and propaganda.
Furthermore, such videos may portray violence as acceptable or even justified. If they are shared without any contextual explanation, it is harder for viewers to immediately realize that what they are watching is not ordinary animation, but content containing narratives hostile toward Ukrainians. At the same time, the mere fact that characters are used in AI-generated videos does not mean that their creators or rights holders support such propaganda. The point is that the creators of these videos are using well-known characters for their own purposes.
What Response Is the Center Calling For?
The Center for Countering Disinformation stated that such cases once again demonstrate the need to completely block Russian media content worldwide. These videos also serve as a reminder of the importance of approaching social media content with a critical eye. Familiar characters, cartoon-style visuals, and AI-generated scenes do not guarantee that a video is intended for entertainment. You should be especially wary of videos in which children’s characters are used to justify war, humiliate Ukrainians, or spread calls for violence.
Thus, Russian propaganda exploits the popularity of cartoon characters to spread hostile narratives in an unconventional format. According to the Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD), this is yet another way to foster negative attitudes toward Ukrainians, particularly among audiences who may perceive such videos as ordinary animated content. This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD).
