"Remember the faces of those who sell you": how paid posts against rallies appeared in TikTok

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Natalia Zotova

BBC

6 min

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The arrest of Alexei Navalny and news of "Putin's palace" have stirred up the previously apolitical Russian TikTok. The bloggers who were keen on the opposition agenda began to be approached by intermediaries with "manuals" - for several thousand rubles, Tiktokers are offered to talk about the risks at rallies and Navalny's criminal cases.

Before the rally announced by Navalny's supporters on January 23, the Russian "TikTok" was rapidly politicized . Videos about the palace in Gelendzhik, the detention of Navalny and rallies filled the tapes of even apolitical users. The teenagers began vying with each other to shoot videos with tips on how to prepare for the action.

Four TikToku specialists and social network users told the BBC that before the next rally on January 31, bloggers were offered paid videos criticizing Navalny and the rallies.

"They earn a living, but not much"

Commercial advertising in TikTok is a common thing, this is how bloggers monetize their views. In October, Forbes compiled a ranking of the highest paid Tiktokers in Russia.

For example, Alexey Savko, who advertised Coca Cola, Uber, Sberbank, McDonald's, Megafon and other large companies, earns 2 million rubles a month.

But only the top tiktokers with millions of subscribers can receive super-high incomes, Renat Yanbekov, producer and executive director of the NÉRPA agency, told the BBC.

"And if medium-sized agencies and medium-sized bloggers - from 300 thousand subscribers - there are small fees: 10-15-20 thousand [rubles] for a blogger per post," Yanbekov continues. "That is, they earn a living, but not much."

However, there was no large-scale political advertising on the social network before. Perhaps that is why bloggers and the audience immediately paid attention to custom videos. Tiktokers tell how they were offered several thousand rubles for a video against rallies, and ridicule those who took the money.

The head of a large advertising agency for bloggers Wildjam, Yaroslav Andreev, said that the agency does not engage in propaganda and political advertising, and that similar posts criticizing Navalny on Instagram are an initiative of the bloggers themselves.

Later, the Wildjam press service announced the termination of cooperation with bloggers who were seen in paid posts about politics. However, the company did not give specific names.

"My taxes are given back to me so that I can sell my opinion"

"Political advertising on TikTok simply does not work. Putin is considered a" bastard "among young people, and people just watch videos in support of him, - explains the BBC TikToker Pyotr Tyurin, he hosts the humorous" TikTok "@Likefam with his wife "This means that the algorithms believe that this video is uninteresting and will not be shown to a large audience. And any opinion about Navalny is interesting to listen to. People are watching to the end, the platform is convenient, and views are growing exponentially."

Tyurin saw an ad marked "urgent order" on the advertising exchange, which is actively used by Tiktokers. He clarified that it was necessary to advertise: it turned out that it was necessary to advise not to go to the rally and tell that Navalny is in fact a criminal.

For this, the blogger was offered five thousand rubles. The price is less than the market price, the blogger says: taking into account the number of subscribers for advertising, he charges at least seven.

The account with which the blogger corresponded in Telegram is called the Youth Union. "We are a public organization for youth affairs, we want to warn children against participating in uncoordinated actions", - was written in the terms of reference, a link to which was sent to Tyurin.

Peter admits that the political videos and controversies that suddenly appeared in TikTok have already shaken him: “I’m not for Putin or Navalny. But the fact that my tax money, which I pay as a blogger, is given back to me, to sell my opinion, I was outraged. "

Peter was so angry that he decided to go to the rally on January 23: there he broadcast on his TikTok, telling subscribers what was happening in the square and who had gathered there.

"They got dirty - and they got it right away"

In "TikTok" you can record your video on an already existing audio track: this is how, for example, flash mobs with dancing appear on social networks, and in this way bloggers emphasize that they are making content on one topic.

Custom videos can be found by the sound: "TikTok" is not a place for politics. "" This is a place for dancing, a food challenge, in order to give good ", - some bloggers continue the phrase: these are dozens of the same type of videos, built according to the same scenario ...

Others use the same sound to record their criticism of such posts. TikTok is not a place for politics. This is a place for corrupt bloggers, - says tiktoker @Sirius_frost in the video: - Remember the faces of those who sell you. Friends don't trade for loot. "

Another blogger took a guitar and sang about corrupt bloggers to the tune of the song "Aya" Kangi: "This is a place for corrupt bloggers who just beckon with a coin with a round number, and the Kremlin would remember you."

In the "training manual", which got into the public domain, it was proposed to put the hashtags "non-revolution" and "unwanted revolution" on paid videos. As a result, videos exposing paid bloggers appeared in the top of these hashtags.

“Then it will be a shame to look at your friends,” “Oops, sold out,” “Kremlin: +1000 rubles,” they write to her in the comments, and someone right there calls for a “walk” on January 31.

The next most popular video on this hashtag is clearly a parody of the same type "Temnik": "Is it worth it for you to go to the rally course not, because you can get into the jail -?! Mimics tiktokersha @Ideniza - The familiar text Yes, it is for this one.? campaign text bloggers sold you. "

"That is, they got dirty - and immediately got it," says Pyotr Tyurin of those who agreed to political advertising. "Everyone already knows that these are paid videos, they were exposed."

"They tell me that I am promoting my views, " blogger @Tololomo with 1.5 million subscribers says in her TikTok.

Then the girl shows screenshots with a "manual" about the harm of rallies, which she was also asked to do, and concludes: "I'd rather convey freedom of choice to the audience than sell it." The protest song “There is no more death” by the Ic3peak group plays in the background and the voice of Alexei Navalny is playing: “We are in power here!”

"Why does the authorities need such a mouthpiece of truth?"

The Kremlin is deeply alarmed by the surge of political content on TikTok and other youth social networks and urgently tried to do something in response. The BBC was told about this by two interlocutors involved in this work, but not authorized to give official comments.

The problem is that the authorities themselves do not have specialists on the ecosystem of youth social networks, both BBC sources agree. And the strategies that were offered to them by a few specialists have been rejected by the authorities for more than one year.

"Everything there is so backward that, in principle, no one understands what TikTok is. They do not understand how it works. They are seriously trying to prove that if a person has 300 subscribers, then he cannot have a million views, he clocked up", - gives an example of one of the interlocutors.

"On all platforms, the authorities are trying to act clumsy and clumsy. People do not like clumsy interference in the blogger's content at all, it is ridiculed and does not work: after this campaign, no one goes to vote," TikTok-producer Renat Yanbekov is convinced.

But other social networks, for example, "Instagram", by their very structure, are better suited for spreading "orders", experts say.

“I launched a target on Instagram, caught up with bots in comments - and you can influence public opinion,” says Pyotr Tyurin. “This will not work here. TikTok advertisements have strict limits, political posts cannot be made. If you launch bots, they will be banned immediately. So this is still an open platform. But it can also be covered up: why does the authorities need such a mouthpiece of truth? "

Renat Yanbekov also fears that the authorities will artificially restrict Internet traffic or even block disloyal sites. But "this is the best way to infuriate the Russians, to run into TikTok is a mistake," he is sure.

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