The current conflict in Ukraine is reportedly being fought on many fronts that transcend the battlefield. One interesting front is the trolling fields of the Internet, namely the Eastern European version of 4 Chan known as Dvach. That’s where a new meme sprouted that sparked a rumor about Sasha Grey and her death at the hands of the Ukrainian military. From The Moscow Times:
The story says that a nurse named “Sasha Serova” was captured by Ukrainian military forces, who then filmed themselves “humiliating” her before chopping her body up with an ax. Notably, the last name “Serova” is similar to the Russian word for “gray.”
The post, which received more than 3,500 likes in its first day online, may actually have been a sick joke, but propaganda and misreporting have played a serious role in public perception of the Ukraine conflict.
I <3 my Russian fans, but this propaganda takes it too far. News that I was a NURSE killed in the Russian/Ukraine conflict. #fuckpropoganda
— Sasha Grey (@SashaGrey) February 18, 2015
People are dying. People are losing family members & BS outlets mock the deceased with Fappery like this
— Sasha Grey (@SashaGrey) February 18, 2015
Misreporting and online trickery are certainly nothing new. I think we’ve all been caught off guard by a fake Twitter account or viral information that isn’t actually the truth. It’s easy to go back and fix, but it is almost pointless once the eyes have moved past the initial news.
When it comes to this situation and Sasha Grey, the details of the hoax are grisly with initial implications that are far more profound than just a normal online death hoax. That’s part of the reason why Grey took to Twitter to address the rumors with a little anger, the other part being that this isn’t the first time it has happened:
Grey, whose real name is Marina Ann Hantzis, tweeted in December 2013 for Ukraine to “stay strong” during the Kiev protests that later ousted former pro-Kremlin President Viktor Yanukovych.
At the time, Russian-language bloggers blasted the sentiment, accusing her of supporting the pro-Western protesters exclusively.
She tweeted Wednesday that the emergence of the latest meme had flung her to the opposite end of the propaganda spectrum. She had once been lambasted for her alleged support of the protest movement in Kiev, and was now being glorified for her doppelganger’s supposedly grisly death at the hands of Kiev-loyal forces.
Just an FYI some other conservative propaganda outlet labeled me & other Russian artists as friends of the Hunta just last summer/fall.
— Sasha Grey (@SashaGrey) February 18, 2015
So to make it clear FIRST I was the ENEMY & now I'm a FRIEND because this was supposedly the fault of Ukrainians.
— Sasha Grey (@SashaGrey) February 18, 2015
I have love & respect for all of my Russian & Ukrainian fans, I wish there was more I could do. #peace
— Sasha Grey (@SashaGrey) February 18, 2015
I suppose this is the world we live in now. Propaganda has gone viral. It seem to be created for the laughs, but is hitting with a stronger impact. And with US Senators sharing out of date photographs to persuade some form of military action and Russian media reporting fake stories about crucified children, it takes more care than ever to truly sift through the facts.
(Via The Moscow Times / Sasha Grey / Global Voices)