An app that allows fans to buy personalized greetings from celebrities was used in a pro-Kremlin campaign to influence Moldova’s recent referendum on whether to join the European Union. US actor Brian Baumgartner, who played Kevin in the US remake of The Office, recorded a message in broken Russian on Cameo earlier this year calling for the removal of pro-Western Moldovan President Maia Sandu: “We, Hollywood stars, support the people of Moldova in their desire to overthrow you, Sandu.”
The Russian-backed operation, which included similar messages from Lindsay Lohan and other celebrities, was unsuccessful: Moldovans narrowly voted to join the EU, but the small country has become “a cautionary tale” about the exploitation of social media to “fund complex disinformation operations,” Wired reported.