The Kremlin-run bot network Doppelgänger has begun spreading an AI-generated video mimicking the visual style of Little Big, the Russian band behind the 2018 viral hit “Skibidi.”
This is reported by The Insider.
The new clip, which calls for the removal of sanctions against Russia in order to “save Europe,” was identified and shared with The Insider by the Bot Blocker project (@antibot4navalny).
The video features deepfake versions of former U.S. President Joe Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, and a singer resembling Little Big’s frontman, Ilya Prusikin. The song’s chorus — “Russian boomerang” — suggests that U.S.-driven anti-Russian sanctions have backfired on Europe, leading to soaring gas and fuel prices, industrial decline, and currency devaluation. The video ends with a blue flag displaying the message: “Cancel sanctions! Save Europe!”
Posts sharing the clip include captions such as: “Soaring energy prices and an impending recession — this is not what victory looks like. We must rebuild ties with Russia for our future.” Beyond English, bots are actively promoting the video in German, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Turkish, and Greek. According to Bot Blocker, the Kremlin-run network is prioritizing this campaign over all its other activities.
The video’s release comes less than a month before Germany’s snap Bundestag elections, scheduled for Feb. 23, 2025.
The Insider previously reported that after Donald Trump’s decision to temporarily freeze aid programs for Ukraine, Doppelgänger bots flooded social media with articles from fake versions of major European news sites — such as Der Spiegel and Le Parisien — urging Europe to halt its own support for Kyiv, claiming the provision of aid harms European citizens.
In May of last year, the Doppelgänger network spread another AI-generated video mocking then-U.S. President Joe Biden. The clip featured real Moscow-based actors, and investigations suggested that the project was linked to Little Bug, a parody group producing Kremlin-aligned videos in the style of Little Big. The real Little Big band left Russia following the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and is currently based in Los Angeles.
Doppelgänger is a vast network of social media bots and fake websites that disseminates Kremlin-friendly narratives, including those about the war in Ukraine. One of Doppelgänger’s disinformation attacks was investigated by French authorities. In early 2024, they determined that sanctioned European IT companies “National Technologies” and the “Social Design Agency” (SDA) had been responsible for republishing massive amounts of false stories sourced to pro-Kremlin entities. The ultimate owner of National Technologies LLC is Rostec — Russia’s sprawling state-owned defense corporation, led by former KGB officer and close Putin associate Sergey Chemezov.
The bots also promoted the EuroBRICS website, which has proven links to the GRU’s Special Service Center (Military Unit 54777) — the agency’s psychological operations unit. In July 2023, the European Union imposed sanctions against those involved in the misinformation campaign. The list included the above-mentioned National Technologies and Social Design Agency, as well as several officers from GRU Unit 54777.
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