When a video of a Russian woman pouring bleach on male commuters came across Mashable.com video producer and reporter Nikolay Nikolov's desk, he was immediately suspicious and advised his colleagues not to publish it.
The video — which shows activist Anna Dovgalyuk squirting what she claims is diluted bleach onto the crotches of men who spread their legs on public transit — appears to be Russian anti-feminist propaganda.
One of the men who appeared in the video also told St. Petersburg-based online magazine Bumaga that it was staged, and the victims were paid actors.
As It Happens host Carol Off spoke to the London-based Nikolov about the apparent hoax and how Russia harnesses viral videos to promote disinformation.
Before people figured out it was a fake video, it received quite substantial coverage in terms of Western media.
Search results for 'Russian manspreading video' still bring up several videos from individuals and media outlets treating the story as if it were accurate.
As reporters, particularly as video producers, I think we need to do more in terms of our due diligence. »
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