Arnold Schwarzenegger labeled a ‘predator and an enemy’ by state-friendly Russian media Arnold Schwarzenegger at Paris Climate Change Conference 2015. (UNclimatechange/Flickr)
The Russian propaganda machine is lashing out against actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who recorded a video last week telling the Russian people that what they’re hearing about their country’s attack on neighboring Ukraine shouldn’t be trusted.
I love the Russian people. That is why I have to tell you the truth. Please watch and share. pic.twitter.com/6gyVRhgpFV
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) March 17, 2022
According to The Daily Beast, a handful of Russian TV pundits have voiced displeasure over the “Red Heat” star’s claims that, while he’s always great reverence for the Russian people including his weightlifting childhood idol Yury Vlasov, they’re being conned by media puppets beholden to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“He, in California, will tell us, who live here… the ‘truth?’” raged TV host Vadim Gigin.
Russian powerlifter Maryana Naumova reportedly referred to Schwarzenegger’s body of work while appealing to him in a tabloid report Monday.
“Do you remember how in the second part of the ‘Terminator’ your hero goes back in time to prevent the creation of Skynet, which would bring the death of all mankind?” she asked. “Russia’s special military operation does not aim to destroy the Ukrainian people. It is aimed at the neo-Nazi Skynet, which over the years has completely subjugated Ukraine and was about to turn into an uncontrollable monster, dangerous for all of its neighbors, not only for us.”
Putin has told his constituents that Russian forces are liberating Ukraine from Nazi control, despite the fact Ukraine’s democratically elected president is Jewish.
The Daily Beast also reports that Russian writer Zakhar Prilepin has used social media to claim that characters played by Schwarzenegger have killed Russian adversaries and reminded the public that the actor’s dad served with Germany’s Nazi forces in World War II. Germany invaded Russia in 1941.
In the video being referenced, Schwarzenegger asked people all over the world to use whatever platforms at their disposal to get through to Russians getting their information from the Kremlin.
“I’m sending this message to various different channels to reach my dear Russian friends and the Russian soldiers serving in Ukraine,” he began. “There are things going on in the world that have been kept from you — terrible things you should know about.”
Days after posting his video, Schwarzenegger tweeted that it was getting results.
“I want to thank every single one of you who shared this video,” he wrote Friday. “I have heard from fans in Russia so I know it is breaking through. Keep pushing.”
I want to thank every single one of you who shared this video. I have heard from fans in Russia so I know it is breaking through. Keep pushing.
You can also share my Telegram we started to make it easier to spread inside Russia: https://t.co/sk8vndJqKm https://t.co/HurJlmmeuY— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) March 18, 2022
One of the 74-year-old actor’s social media followers suggested sneakily posting Schwarzenegger’s video to websites that review Russian eateries so that people will see it.
The Russian government has reportedly blocked social media content unfriendly to its cause.
Others posted the names of American companies with ties to Russia and encouraged Americans to show support by boycotting those places in the U.S. The Subway sandwich franchise is one such outlet, though the company insists eateries abroad are independently owned and not accountable to anyone in the West.
Schwarzenegger’s Twitter feed is also filled with messages from users claiming to be in Ukraine, who are sharing their horrifying experiences on the ground.
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