Viral “manspreading” video is staged Kremlin propaganda

A young woman walks up to a man in a subway train and pours liquid over him from a plastic bottle. The scene is repeated a number of times with different men who all react with anger and bewilderment. We are told that they are being punished for "manspreading," i.e. for sitting with their legs wide open.

The scenes have been recorded in the subway of St. Petersburg, Russia, and the female presenter, who speaks Russian in the video, is described as "social activist" Anna Dovalyuk. Titles in the video explain that the liquid in the bottle is "water mixed with bleach, leaving permanent stains."

"Some say it’s all staged"

The video also tells that "some say it’s all staged," and social media users have indeed questioned its authenticity. The St. Petersburg-based online magazine Bumaga found and interviewed one of the men appearing in the recording, who said that he was paid for acting as a victim. So, if the video is fiction, and if In The Now even openly states this – what is then the purpose of promoting the story to international audiences? What is in it for a Russian state media outlet?

Provoking a clash of extreme views

The key to a possible answer is found in the reactions the video has been able to spur. In the comments section on Facebook, users express outrage against the alleged feminist activist, often in strongly misogynic language, with this comment as the most popular, gathering by now more than 14,000 likes:

Troll factory modus operandi

A central element in the modus operandi of the famous "troll factory" in St. Petersburg has been to promote not just one, but different and opposing extreme views. During the American Presidential election campaign in 2016, the goal of the operation was to sow discord in the political system and address divisive issues via groups and pages falsely claiming to represent US activists. Messaging was e.g. not only pro-Trump, but also protesting against Trump, all to drive in wedges.

Echoing Russian state TV

The video and its reactions also echo negative messages about feminism, the MeToo movement and "political correctness " in the West, which Russian state television has repeatedly delivered. On 5 November 2017, state TV host Dmitry Kiselev, who is under a personal EU sanction, compared the MeToo discussions in the West to Soviet repressions, claiming that they have led to a situation where "there is no such thing as human nature and no romantic adventures anymore," and where "everything can be misinterpreted as dirty harassment,"

On 1 October this year, Kiselev lashed out at what he described as “malignant feminism” – accusations of sexual misconduct – in the West, an “infection” which, he said, is moving from the US to Europe and Russia. In The Now is a social media project under the umbrella of RT (Russia Today). It specializes in distributing viral videos, only some of which have direct or indirect political messages. Like its sister project ICMY, In The Now does not clearly advertise its relationship to RT and thereby the fact that it is owned by the Kremlin.

---

Further reading:

• Three things you should know about RT and Sputnik
• Whistleblower shares insights on workings of Russian state-controlled media
• KT – Kremlin Today
• ICYMI and In The Now: The Support Vessels of the RT Flagship⁩
• Chief Editor: RT is like “a defense ministry”
• The Strategy and Tactics of the Pro-Kremlin Disinformation Campaign
• You won’t believe how RT brainwashes its population
• Komsomolskaya Pravda, Russia Today – leading outlets for anti-Semitic and anti-Israel propaganda, Israeli researchers say
• In the depths of disinformation: this is how RT propaganda works
• Fake Azov video tries to frame Ukraine prior to the Dutch referendum