NewsGuard, a group of analysts that evaluate the veracity of news and websites, has uncovered 160 videos on the platform that “alludes to, depict, or glorify acts of violence” by the Wagner Group, which has ties to Russia.
Videos on the social media platform TikTok that “glorify” the violence of Russian mercenaries in Ukraine have been viewed over a billion times, according to misinformation monitors.
One of the videos appears to depict the October death of Yevgeny Nuzhin, a former Russian mercenary who had defected from the Wagner Group.
Wagner is a suspected Kremlin-affiliated private military organization said to be fighting with Russian troops in Ukraine.
NewsGuard analysts report identifying 160 videos on TikTok that “allude to, depict, or praise acts of violence committed by the Wagner Group, including 14 that appear to depict the killing of former Russian mercenary Nuzhin.”
They reported that promotional content for the Wagner Group on TikTok has been viewed over a billion times.
ByteDance, a Chinese internet firm largely owned by the Chinese government, owns and operates TikTok.
NewsGuard has discovered over 500 music videos that incite violence against Ukrainians, including calls to kill Ukrainians because they are “Nazis.”
And they claim that the clips, which serve as propaganda and recruitment tools for the Wagner Group, appear to violate TikTok’s policies, which prohibit content that “praises, promotes, glorifies, or supports violent acts” and videos that “incite violence against, or otherwise dehumanize an individual or group.”
Russia was expected to deploy more than a thousand mercenaries, including senior leaders of Wagner, to conduct combat operations, the Ministry of Defence stated around one month into its invasion of Ukraine.
The chief of GCHQ, Sir Jeremy Fleming, stated that they would likely be used as “cannon fodder” to minimize Russian military losses.
British military intelligence reported in August that Wagner was involved in the capture of Ukraine’s second-largest power facility in the eastern Donetsk region.
What is the Wagner Group of so-called “hidden” Russian mercenaries?
Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman with close ties to Vladimir Putin who is also believed to operate Russia’s “troll farm,” the Internet Research Agency, is suspected to bankroll the outfit.
The favorite composer of Hitler
Mr. Prigozhin was one of the numerous oligarchs sanctioned by the West in reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, although he has always denied any link to Wagner.
According to the European Union, Wagner was formed by Dmitry Utkin, a former Russian soldier reputedly covered with Nazi tattoos, and named after Hitler’s favorite composer, Richard Wagner.
NewsGuard stated that when it questioned TikTok about the content, the company “did not contest NewsGuard’s findings.”
A TikTok spokeswoman said: “No hateful or violent content is permitted on our platform.
“Our Community Guidelines expressly prohibit the use of our platform to threaten or incite violence, or to share insults or slurs based on nationality or other protected characteristics.
We will take action against content that violates our policies.
