Google, Meta and TikTok have removed social media accounts belonging to an industrial factory in Russia’s Tatarstan region aimed at recruiting young foreign women to build drones for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
An Associated Press investigation detailing working conditions at a drone factory in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, which is under U.S. and U.K. sanctions, was published on Oct. 10 and posts on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok have been removed. .
Videos and other posts on social media platforms show young women, mostly from Africa, being offered free flights to Russia and salaries of more than $500 a month after being hired in a program called “Alabuga Start.” I promised.
But instead of work-study programs in fields such as hospitality and catering, some of them only arrived in the Tatarstan region to create weapons of war in factories and to deploy thousands of Iranian-designed attack drones. Some said they learned the hard way by building the planes. Launched into Ukraine.
According to interviews with The Associated Press, some of the women who worked at the complex said they worked long hours under constant surveillance, had broken promises about pay and research fields, and suffered pock marks on their skin. They complained that they were working with caustic chemicals that left them with irritation and itching. The Associated Press did not reveal their names or nationalities due to safety concerns.
The tech company also has an account for Alabuga Technical University, a boarding vocational school for Russians aged 16-18 and Central Asians aged 18-22 that advertises its graduates as experts in drone production. Deleted.
Together, these accounts had at least 158,344 followers and one TikTok page had more than 1 million likes.
YouTube said in a statement that its parent company, Google, is committed to sanctions and trade compliance and “has reviewed our policies and, consistent with them, terminated channels associated with the Arabuga Special Economic Zone.”
Meta said it has removed Facebook and Instagram accounts that “violate our policies.” The company said it will strive to comply with sanctions laws and recognizes that human exploitation is a serious issue that requires a multifaceted approach that includes Meta.
The company said it has set up a dedicated anti-human trafficking team and aims to remove people who try to abuse its platform.
TikTok said it removed videos and accounts that violated its community guidelines, which do not allow content used to recruit victims, coordinate transportation, or exploit victims through the use of force, fraud, coercion, or deception. .
The women, aged 18 to 22, were recruited to fill an emergency labor shortage in wartime Russia. They come from countries such as Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and the South Asian country of Sri Lanka. This initiative is expanding to Latin America as well as other parts of Asia.
The Arabuga-related account, which has tens of thousands of followers, is still accessible on Telegram but did not respond to requests for comment. Factory management also did not respond to The Associated Press.
Arabaga Start’s recruitment campaign features close-ups of African women smiling as they sweep floors, operate cranes while wearing hard hats, and apply paints and chemicals while wearing protective equipment. We used a strong social media campaign with well-edited videos accompanied by beat music.
The video also showed them enjoying Tatarstan’s cultural facilities and playing sports. None of the videos revealed women working at a drone manufacturing facility.
Alabuga facilitated online visits to the industrial zone by foreign dignitaries from countries such as Brazil, Sri Lanka and Burkina Faso.
In a since-deleted Instagram post, a Turkish diplomat who visited the factory compared Alabuga University of Technology to Turkish universities, calling it “much more developed and high-tech.”
According to Russian law enforcement agencies Protocol and Razvorot, some students at Alabuga Technical University are as young as 15 years old and have complained of poor working conditions.
Videos previously posted on the platform showed students at the technical school donning camouflage uniforms and engaging in team-building exercises such as a “military-patriotic” paintball match and reenacting historic Soviet battles. was.
Last month, Alabuga Start announced on Telegram that it had “significantly increased viewership!”
This may be due to the hiring of influencers who promoted the site on TikTok and Instagram as an easy way for young women to earn money after finishing school.
TikTok removed two videos promoting Alabuga in response to the Associated Press investigation.
Experts told The Associated Press that about 90% of women hired through the Alabuga Start program work in drone manufacturing.
___
For more AP coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.
