{
  "id": 19854306,
  "title": "The foreign influencers helping Russia sell its occupation",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/the-foreign-influencers-helping-russia-sell-its-occupation",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-13T19:32:27.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Kyiv Independent",
    "slug": "kyiv-independent",
    "url": "https://kyivindependent.com/the-foreign-influencers-helping-russia-sell-its-occupation/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A group of 15 young people from various countries were invited to the Russian-occupied region of Donetsk Oblast in Ukraine as guests of the International Festival of Youth, a Russian state-backed event. The festival aimed to showcase life under Russian rule in a carefully staged manner, presenting the occupied territories as appealing travel destinations and ignoring Russia's repression and the devastation of cities and loss of thousands of civilians. The participants, including Nor Arif Prastyo from Indonesia, Baiel Abdybekov from Kyrgyzstan, and Peter Vesko from South Africa, were tasked with portraying an idealized image of the region on social media, releasing white doves and visiting historical sites, while ignoring the reality of the ongoing conflict. The International Festival of Youth, funded by the Russian state, brought together around 10,000 participants, half of them from abroad, and featured entertainment, political messages, and even an exhibition on Ukrainian neo-Nazism, which has been a staple of Russian propaganda since 2014.",
  "summary": "On the social media accounts of a group of young foreign visitors touring the Russian-occupied part of Donetsk Oblast, the war-ravaged region is presented as an appealing travel destination. In Instagram videos, the visitors release white doves — symbols of peace — into the sky and stroll through the Mariupol Drama Theater, rebuilt after Russian forces destroyed it during the 2022 siege. But…",
  "key_points": [
    "15 young influencers from various countries invited to Donetsk Oblast.",
    "Russian state-backed International Festival of Youth organized the event.",
    "Participants portrayed idealized image of region on social media."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}