Instagram Influencers and Twitch Streamers Broadcast Russia's Ukraine Invasion

It’s a jarring contrast: Just a day ago, Sofia Stuzhuk, an influencer in Ukraine with 5.5 million followers, was posting videos of playing with her young daughter and a new manicure on Instagram Stories. Then on Thursday, her short videos started focusing on a geopolitical crisis, as Stuzhuk reposted a video of Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky addressing the Russian invasion in a TV broadcast. 

Since then, Stuzhuk has been sharing tearful videos explaining what’s happening in Ukraine: “Everyone is leaving. So far there are some explosions at the gas station” and lines at the bank, she said, according to a translated caption. She also posted a video from outside her window, featuring sirens wailing nonstop in the background.