A viral TikTok posted yesterday revealed a Snapchat of a guy partying in Ukraine during the ongoing Russian invasion.
The TikTok, posted by Ava Dankith (@basedmommy) has more than 3.4 million views. The video shows Dankith, who has over 161,200 followers on TikTok, screen-recording her Snap Map, which shows Snapchats posted by users around the world by location.
Dankith zooms into Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, to reveal a Snapchat video of a guy partying. He is pouring and chugging a beer.
“At least one guy in Kyiv is having a good night,” Dankith captioned the video, “Respect.”
The comments section of the viral TikTok showed shock and admiration in response to the man partying.
“I will not die sober,” one user commented.
“Bro looks like he’s about to cry,” another replied.
“He’s pregaming the war,” a third responded.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine began last week. Five days ago, fighting approached the north side of the capital city of Kyiv, according to Reuters.
Early this morning, Russian forces were reported to be stalled 20 miles north of Kyiv. This is likely due to a stronger than unexpected Ukrainian resistance; Russian logistial missteps; and food and fuel supply shortages, according to CNN.
However, earlier today a projectile was reported to hit the main radio and television tower in Kyiv. At least two more explosions in the area surrounding the tower were also recorded, according to the New York Times
Some users in the comments section of the viral TikTok accused the Snapchat user of faking his location.
“Thats a norwegian guy bro, beer is a norwegian brand (Seidel) and there is a vinmonopolet plastic bag on the floor. he just changed his location,” one user commented.
“You can spoof your location and post a public story from anywhere. I posted from North Korea,” another replied.
Snapchat does not have settings in-app to alter your Snap Map location. Snapchat did not respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment regarding whether or not it is possible to fake your Snap Map location using third-party technology.
It seems it may be possible to spoof your location by altering your IP address or GPS data. Cybernews claims that you can use a VPN, or Virtual Private Network, to change your IP address and override your GPS location. However, users on Reddit and Quora claim that a VPN alone is not enough and you need to use specific GPS-altering apps in order to trick Snap Map.
A reporter at the Daily Dot connected to a VPN and set their location to Ukraine. Snapchat still correctly identified the reporter’s location.
The Daily Dot reached out to Snapchat for comment via email, and Ava Dankith via Instagram message.
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