Russian kids keep getting bused to the same movie (not ‘Spider-Man’), and the institutions taking them are posting eerily similar praise for it online

Across Russia, numerous school camps and municipal children's centers have reported taking children to view the movie The Last Warrior: Kolobok. An independent Russian news outlet named Verstka discovered over 20 social media posts detailing these school trips, complete with photos from the screenings. These posts seem to actively praise the film, with similar language used in several of them.

The Education Ministry has denied claims that they ordered mandatory screenings of the Kolobok film for students in grades one through nine, stating the film is gaining viewership without extra support. The movie debuted in Russian theaters back in August. Due to its success, distributors reportedly urged theaters to push back the release of the film Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which was scheduled for a gray-market showing in Russia at the same time.

Theaters faced penalties for not complying. After the postponement of Spider-Man, the creators of Kolobok received criticism, and the film's rating on review aggregators took a hit from viewers. The Russian television channel Rossiya 24 filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office and the Investigative Committee, alleging online critics were sending threatening messages to the film's creators.

This matter led to a criminal investigation. Meduza, a news organization, aims to maintain transparency about its use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. This particular story was written by a human journalist and translated from Russian into English using an AI model that follows strict editorial guidelines. Every draft undergoes review by a Meduza editor before publication.

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