'Vladdy Daddy, Don't Start a War in Ukraine': Generation Z Having Fun or a Media Campaign?
16:40 GMT 30.01.2022 (Updated: 10:54 GMT 05.03.2023)
© Sputnik / Sergey Guneev
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It is sometimes impossible to wrap one's mind around the nature of viral trends. While some of them are fun games like Wordle or silly lipsync videos, others are sometimes outright dangerous (remember the crate challenge? Forget it!) or related to serious issues like health and politics... in their own very special way.
It looks like it is in bad taste to trust Russia when it says it is not planning to invade neighbouring countries, so the notorious "war in Ukraine" narrative is still being pushed. Moscow has already faced different kinds of accusations, but it took an unexpected turn when netizens flooded to different social media platforms... literally asking "Vladdy Daddy" not to start a war.
It all started on Instagram, with one user deciding to screen-record comments on an unofficial account of Vladimir Putin calling on "Vladdy Daddy" not to start a war. Then TikTok skyrocketed it to trends, with the video swiftly reaping over a million views.
@astridszarek Vladdy daddy 💀💀💀 #russia #ukraine #vladimirputin #vladdydaddy #war #ww3 #putin ♬ Rasputin (Single Version) - Boney M.
Other TikTokers immediately grasped the challenge. Because apparently, this is how Generation Z tries to save the world from "World War III".
@yourdadspphole i love gen z ❤️ #ww3 #putin #vladdydaddy #instagram ♬ Rasputin (Single Version) - Boney M.
Ironically, the TikTok videos on "Vladdy Daddy" feature a song by Bonny M called "Rasputin" - a popular viral soundtrack for a variety of short videos, not necessarily (if at all) political.
One netizen wondered whether the account that the netizens were spamming was "even his official" one (the answer is no, because neither Putin nor the Kremlin have official pages on Instagram).
However, the Russian government is represented on Twitter - and this is where netizens eventually went, spamming the comment sections of every other tweet. How aptly would the words "Vladdy Daddy" look in the comments beneath a press release of a conversation between the Kremlin and the Elysee palace? As if anyone cares.
Some of the comments were apparently translated into Russian - which did not make them understandable or any less bizarre. For example, some people pledged to "be a good kitten", and others asked "Vladdy Daddy" not to "invade Ukraine" because they had a "wife and cats".
Putin stopp🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺this isn’t you🥺🥺🥺❤️💕💕❤️💕💕💗💗look me in the eyes🥺don’t listen to Ukrain 🥺🥺 vladdy daddy don’t let ur emotions take control🥺💗💕💗You’re better than this🥺🥺🥺
— Camilo’s girlfriend (@P_ayge) January 28, 2022
vlady daddy please dont attack ukraine and cause war i literally still havent felt real love
— di 𝟤.𝟢 (@explicitzzle) January 26, 2022
Hey daddy i left a lil something in the dms🤪❤️ should be enough for a non aggression pact baby!?!!🥰🥺
— jjatr (@jjjjjjatr) January 28, 2022
Others were a bit more articulate.
Hi!
— sharvin (@sharvindoblas) January 29, 2022
To me I concern for president of Russia. Kindly don't make at war in Ukraine. Make some best diplomatic decisions to stop making a war.
Some observers have already suggested that this looks more like a targeted media campaign adapted to the meme-loving Internet community rather than just a weird viral movement by Generation Z.
Whatever the origin behind the bizarre social media flood is, the Russian president, along with multiple other top government officials in Moscow, has repeatedly stressed that there are no plans to attack Ukraine.
