Chinese influencer poses as Russian soldier fighting in Ukraine to scam netizens

The influencer's (right) face would regularly become distorted in his videos, a telltale sign he was using deepfake AI technology. — Photo: Weibo/The Straits Times/ANN

Sporting a bald head, a thick beard and clad in military uniform, a Chinese influencer claimed he was a Russian special forces soldier fighting in the war in Ukraine.

The content creator who went by the online alias “Pavel Korchatie” and had close to 400,000 followers on the short video app Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, would share his “first-hand” experience of the war, the South China Morning Post reported.