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A ‘Manspreading’ Video And Russia’s Culture Wars

A protest against men on public transport goes viral – but is it Kremlin propaganda?

A protest against “manspreading” went viral in Russia – but is it Russian propaganda? Activist Anna Dovgalyuk denies that she staged a stunt where a woman was filmed throwing diluted bleach at the crotches of men whose legs were sprawled out over multiple seats on the St Petersburg Metro. But media reports suggested one of the men was an actor, and a European Union website has described the film as “staged Kremlin propaganda”. So, is it real or just a hoax? And how does it fit into a larger pattern of Russian social media bots and trolls stoking culture wars online?

Reporter: Marco Silva
Producer: Anisa Subedar

(Photo: Screenshot from the ‘manspreading’ video that went viral in Russia. Credit: Anna Dovgalyuk)

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23 minutes

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Mon 22 Oct 2018 03:06GMT

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  • Fri 19 Oct 2018 21:06GMT
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  • Mon 22 Oct 2018 03:06GMT

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