Foreign YouTube stars secretly paid by UK Government for 'propaganda'
"Feedback" on each video is given by Whitehall officials before the influencers are allowed to publish them.
London-based media agency, Zinc Network Ltd – co-founded by a former Conservative Party spin doctor – is heading up the work on behalf of the Foreign Office in a deal worth nearly £10 million of public money.
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Zinc has won lucrative contracts from the UK, US and Australian governments.
Speaking to Declassified, one former employee described Zinc's work as 'state propaganda' and accused it of interference in foreign elections.
Another said the relationship with some online influencers was 'extremely exploitative'.
In recent years the company has recruited hundreds of internet celebrities for various clients, particularly in central and eastern Europe.
Influencers are instructed to sign non-disclosure agreements prior to being told about Foreign Office involvement, so anyone watching their videos would have no idea they had been funded and signed-off by UK Government officials.
The work has included a campaign to mobilise young voters in the 2023 Slovakian elections. That election was ultimately won by Robert Fico's left-wing nationalist Smer party, which is seen as being 'pro-Russian'.
One former employee said that, by targeting younger voters, Zinc Network's campaign amounted to 'interference in a sovereign country's internal affairs'.
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Zinc Network claims to operate with the 'highest standards' of transparency, including a 'transparent approach to attribution'.
Rules set out by the UK's Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) say: 'If an influencer is paid in any form… and the brand has shared control over the content, the post must be obviously identifiable as an ad.'
The rules go on to say that 'ads mustn't materially mislead by omitting the identity of the marketer.'
In 2022, Zinc signed a £9,450,000 contract with the Foreign Office, which is due to end in December this year.
Usually, large contracts are published in full on the government's website, but in this instance the contract was kept secret.
For almost two years, the Foreign Office tried to prevent it from being released under the Freedom of Information Act, leading to three separate reprimands from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) who ruled in favour of transparency each time.
A heavily redacted version of the contract was eventually disclosed, although the ICO is now assessing a fresh complaint over the Foreign Office's refusal to release the document's full annexes.
The documents show that Zinc was contracted to help counter disinformation in 22 countries across Central, Eastern and Southern Europe, and in the Baltics.
They say: "This project fits within wider 30-year UK Government objectives, to provide balanced, independent voices to more people in the regions.'
In a response to a parliamentary question about Zinc last month, the government admitted it 'provides feedback on videos for social media' to 'ensure alignment with overarching project objectives, and conflict and gender sensitivity criteria'.
However, the statement added: 'Due to the risks posed to our partners and beneficiaries of these projects we do not publish detailed information about them.'
Responding to the investigation, a Foreign Office spokesperson said: 'The UK will always champion truth and democratic values. Working with partner governments, we use a range of efforts to resist and rebut disinformation spread by those that wish to target the British people and our allies.
'As part of this important work, we collaborate with commercial organisations, independent media outlets and civil society to combat manipulation and interference in democratic participation.'
Zinc said in a statement: "Zinc Network is proud of our work helping civil society push back against hostile Russian influence, especially given the destruction being wrought on Ukraine. We operate within all applicable legislation and our own ethical frameworks around transparency and duty of care, as reviewed by an independent media ethicist."
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