While they might be ?? ???bafflingly popular and useless, the humble fidget spinner is supposedly a tool undermining the Russian state.
Alexey Kazakov, a host at state-run channel Rossiya 24, said in a June 19 report the mildly addictive device "makes a person impressionable for manipulation," as per a translation by Newsweek.
SEE ALSO: 5 fidget spinners for people who say they’ll never get oneIt's apparently one of several segments by the broadcaster on the ill-effects of fidget spinners, suspecting them to be American products helping political "non-systemic" opposition in the country.
Russian journalist Alexey Kovalev was one of the initial people to point out the toy being promoted by opposition on Twitter.
"Fidget spinners are used by opposition to pacify followers and distract them from real issues. Because that's what opposition usually does," he tweeted on Wednesday.
"This is what Russian propaganda is like. This is the best it can do. And, supposedly the same people (there are no others) swayed U.S. [election]."
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The toys are supposedly being sold at anti-corruption protests, according to a report on the channel by Nikolai Sokolov.
The report further claims YouTube channels which comprise of videos of fidget spinners are highly political, which is how they manage to attract a "potential protest audience."
Ok then ...
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