DaFuq!?Boom! (blugray, real name Aleksey Gerasimov) is an animator and blogger who gained worldwide fame as the creator of the viral animated web series "Skibidi Toilet". He was born in 1998 in Russia.
On February 21, 2022, the animator published a post on his YouTube channel stating: "2022 promises to be an interesting year...".
DaFuq!?Boom!'s stance on the war in Ukraine
During the full-scale war, Aleksey Gerasimov resided in Georgia (according to some sources, he moved there even before 2022). Despite living outside Russia, the blogger released a series of creative materials that fully aligned with the narratives of Russian z-propaganda.
Propaganda video about the war in Ukraine
Some time after the outbreak of the war, DaFuq!?Boom! published on his channel an animated video titled "male_07 ends the war [sfm]", which he subsequently deleted (reupload). In this video, the author openly broadcast pro-Kremlin talking points (detailed video breakdown):
- Promoted whataboutism talking points ("Western countries have also invaded other states");
- Claimed that neo-Nazi battalions operate with impunity in Ukraine;
- Mocked the patriotic slogan "Glory to Ukraine", distorting it into an offensive joke about lard;
- Depicted the Ukrainian military as hiding behind the backs of civilians;
- Portrayed Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a drug-addicted "puppet leader" of the US controlled by Joe Biden, who signs a peace deal under threat of violence from the main character;
- Showed ordinary Ukrainians supposedly beating nationalists and waiting for "Russian liberators";
- In the finale of the video, Putin and Zelenskyy sign an agreement under which Russia withdraws its troops, and Ukraine pledges to abandon joining NATO and prosecute "Nazis" and nationalists. This resolution reproduces one of the key Russian narratives according to which the invasion is justified by the need for the "denazification" of Ukraine.
DaFuq!?Boom! not only deleted the propaganda video from his channel, but also actively submitted copyright infringement complaints (DMCA strikes) against any third-party reuploads to completely erase traces of this content from the internet.
Regarding the Russian government
In early 2023, the blogger published a post on his YouTube channel on behalf of his character:
Hey, it's 2023 already! Sorry I'm a bit late. 2022 was rough. I promised content, but it's hard to work when your own government is your biggest enemy. I hope 2023 will be peaceful and bring a lot of content...
Additionally, DaFuq!?Boom! published a short video titled "russia 1 (my heart is cold)", in which Skibidi Toilet Putin falls from the sky and lands in a US city. Putin Skibidi Toilet initiates a "political perestroika", replacing US flags with Russian flags. Camouflaged Skibidi Toilets that arrived with Putin start loudly singing the song "Bad History - PUTIN (My Heart Is Cold)". The video was also later deleted (reupload).
In subsequent years, following the international success of the "Skibidi Toilet" series, Gerasimov deleted older war-related videos from his channel and stopped commenting publicly on the topic. At the same time, he never disavowed the content of the propaganda materials he previously published, nor did he apologize for them. The author has not publicly explained the reasons for removing the videos.
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