Russian AI resurrection videos turn grief into propaganda
In the shadow of war, technology is rewriting grief. AI is bringing the dead back to life for $30, a growing phenomenon in Russia where grief is being turned into state-crafted propaganda.
The idea of Russian propaganda in a wartime scenario is nothing new. Well, not until now.
Vivid AI scenes of fallen Russian soldiers are being ordered and immersed, as goodbyes are waved by grieving wives and families.
Russian social media is rife with AI bots on Telegram and VKontakte, Russia’s answer to Facebook, and they’re cashing in on the niche of grief-sharing.
One channel in particular, run by Anna Korableva on VKontakte, receives over 500 orders a day, reports the Washington Post.
Visceral videos of soldiers embracing spouses and parents, before growing angel wings and ascending to heaven, began in May, and warp the narrative to the Russian will.
Grief as an algorithm
For such an imposing process for the grief-stricken, this subversive process is available for between $35 and $60, in which even voice replication can be added.
The videos have a balm effect, especially as many families are unable to receive the corpses of the soldiers after the barbarity of combat.
The videos are able to proliferate quickly on Russian socials, as families crave reconnection with the deceased.
On Instagram, anti-censorship and pro-peace news outlet Astra Press shows a patchwork of examples of the departed, eerily reunited with their loved ones.
In another subversive video, instructive measures are given on how to revive old videos of relic photos, including family pictures and those of comrades.
Fact, not fiction, matters
Meanwhile, Ukrainian platforms, such as stopfake.org are on their own mission to offer countenance to this weaponized grief.
By warning against the manipulation of emotions by deepfake images, including birthday cakes for soldiers and pregnant wives, the channel shows how social media can form a mirage of hope.
Institutions like the Ministry of Defence remain resolute in repelling Russia and refrain from being embroiled in the issue.
It’s Monday! We continue our fight for freedom and once again we call on you to #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦
undefined Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) October 6, 2025
📷: 91st Anti-Tank Battalion pic.twitter.com/zuHkFwMoO3
And channels like the Memorial Platform collect real photographs, letters, and testimony, rather than AI reconstructions.
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