PRESS RELEASE: Ukraine’s social media stars lead humanitarian efforts

Ukrainian social media influencers amass new followers as Ukrainians struggle to find accurate information.

Ukrainians are desperate to escape the terror, but one of the biggest problems they face is getting access to accurate information about where to find food, the viability of escape corridors, and access to medicine.

“I don’t know anymore… I just don’t trust anyone…” comments @liliya_art1 from Sevastopol, near occupied Crimea.

Trusted Social Media stars (‘influencers’) have become the go-to trusted source for humanitarian information, lifesaving escape routes, and hot-spot updates. The TV towers have been destroyed, but so far the internet remains intact.

Masha Efrosinina (@mashaefrosinina), a Ukrainian actress turned social media influencer used to average around 150k views on her video posts before the war. She now regularly gets over 1m views – some of her more recent ones have over 6m views.

“People nowadays get their news from social media – but since spreading misinformation is part of modern warfare, people don’t know who to trust.” Says Dr Brent Coker – University of Melbourne social media expert and spokesperson for Wear Cape influencer agency. “Remarkably we’re seeing social media influencers taking a leading role in disseminating survival information for Ukraine citizens, and people are tuning in en-masse”.

Alisa Cooper (@alisa___cooper), a Ukrainian food blogger with 276k followers posts links to reliable train schedules, refugee documentation and refugee assistance maps. She is now concerned about feeding the resistance fighters, as food stocks dwindle: “The best restaurants in Kyiv are now preparing for the soldiers and distributing food from the stocks” she posts.

The influencer landscape has changed in Ukraine. No-one is showing off the latest fashions or attending the trendiest events. Their unfiltered posts paint a painfully realistic account of war.

Saba Musina- an Instagram beauty influencer with 600k followers reaches for her phone to post an update. “Volunteers needed! If you have a couple of free hours and you are ready to help – write, call, come!” She is wearing a hoodie, no makeup, in a plain room – a far cry from her usual glamourous persona, champaign and evening dresses.

Masha Efrosinina (@mashaefrosinina) posts regular updates on civilian casualties and hot spots to avoid. Her foundation setup before the war to fight domestic violence now broadcasts information to help the war effort: “New batch of medicines for doctors of Chernihiv region. They will be distributed in family medicine offices…” she posts.

Nadya Dorofeeva (@nadyadorofeeva), a Kiev based influencer with over 5m followers, is a ‘lifestyle’ influencer now posting stories of families and children caught up in the conflict. “As of today, over 80 children are dead, over 100 are critically injured” “..I urge every one of you who sees it — SPEAK UP!” Like many influencers in Ukraine – they want the world to see the suffering more than the fight.

A common plea for many of the influencers is for outside help: particularly requests to NATO to enforce a no-fly zone across Ukraine: ‘Close the Sky’ is a common phrase on social media spread by the influencer’s.

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Wear Cape is an influencer agency headquartered in Melbourne Australia.

Contact Information:
Wear Cape (Australia)
Brent Coker
[email protected]
0421764085