Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, spoke to Congress by video conference on Wednesday morning. Virtually speaking from Kyiv he thanked President Joe Biden and expressed gratitude for “personal involvement” in the defence of Ukraine following Russia’s unexpected invasion three weeks ago. He also called on the United States not to decrease its aid.

Zelenskyy stated, “Now it’s true, in the darkest times for our nation, for Europe,”

Zelenskyy addressed the Canadian Parliament a day before. The technology has enabled the Ukrainian leader to stay in the capital of his country, even though Russian military forces appear to be planning to attack the city. Before he was elected to the presidency of Ukraine with 73% of the votes, Zelenskyy used his talents as an actor and comedian. He now uses the media to mobilize the people.

He is able to seamlessly switch from giving statements at a podium to recording on one single device without any professional equipment. He is as well-known on social media than many celebrity and influencers.

Who is The True Volodymyr and Why Are They So Popular?

It has been claimed that Zelenskyy’s success in connecting with people means there are more than 200 Zelenskyy impersonators on Instagram and Telegram.

Fake Zelenskyys may seem like flattery but they are tricking people to send money by using his fake name, image and brand. It is just another scam perpetrated by the Ukrainian government to steal money.

Yoav Keren is the CEO of BrandShield. The company provides technology that scans the Internet to detect potential threats.

Keren stated in an email that “[our last scan] revealed 45 fake Facebook accounts, 39 on Twitter and 20 on Instagram. 22 on Telegram. 155 were found on VK. The Russian social media platform.”

Scams on social media are easy to perpetrate, because anyone can set up a fake profile online. Although social media platforms have been encouraged to be more vigilant in policing these types of content, many scams and fake profiles can still go unnoticed.

Keren said that “between impersonations by the Ukrainian President Zelenskyy via social media and hacks spreading fake Zelensky messages, website impersonations, and typo-squatting attack on Privatbank (Ukraine’s largest bank), we’re witnessing a wide mix of fake online profile as well as scammers trying to capitalise off this crisis.” While cybercrime can be a legitimate risk during periods of peace for consumers as well as companies and organisations looking to safeguard their reputation, it is more dangerous when cyberattacks are occurring.

Fake News

Also, social media continues to be used for spreading misinformation or even disinformation. You might hear at this stage that Zelenskyy was the loverchild of Elvis Presley and that he is also the mysterious Q.

Russian hackers spread fake news about Zelenskyy’surrender to the Ukrainian government. This is the latest in a series of misinformation attacks targeting Ukraine. We have also discovered many others pretending to be Zelenskyyasking donations for relief work in the region. Keren warned that we even found a fake cryptocurrency, ‘Zelensky’.

People are often confused by the call for help in chaotic situations and don’t realise they’re sending money to fraudsters.

Keren said, “To be protected you must be vigilant and ensure that charities are properly vetted. International organizations recognize them.” “Only donate directly through the charity’s website and never donate through an ad or social media post. Never accept gifts cards as a donation and never give out financial information to strangers via text or email.