Florida woman targeted online after being mistaken for Russian foreign minister Lavrov’s daughter
‘People wish you to burn in hell, you know, ‘you should be deported,’ ‘let’s take over her apartment and host somebody from Ukraine’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.South Florida realtor Ekaterina Lavrova has been abused online by people mistaking her for the daughter of Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.
The daughter of the longtime Putin associate shares the same name as the Florida realtor.
“It’s not nice to have your picture posted in wrongful content,” Ms Lavrova, from North Bay Village in Miami, told WSVN. “It sounds silly, but like I would never imagine that I would be in a situation like that.”
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, she said people on several social media platforms have been targeting her with messages and phone calls, some even going after her real estate business. Her home address has been posted on Twitter.
“People wish you to burn in hell, you know, ‘you should be deported,’ ‘let’s take over her apartment and host somebody from Ukraine,’” Ms Lavrova told the local station. “Every day you think it’s going to get better, it doesn’t stop.”
“They make a post on Twitter, on Facebook or on Instagram, and they say, ‘This is his daughter. Let’s go attack her,’” Ms Lavrova, adding that she’s worried about her family’s safety.
“All it takes is one crazy person to come and do something, and God knows what can they do,” she added.
When she contacted Twitter about the abusive posts, she said they told her that they “didn’t find a violation of our rules”.
The Independent has reached out to Twitter for comment.
“This is how many people have, you know, spread it,” Ms Lavrova said.
“I have no relation to” Mr Lavrov “and I can’t influence that minister to stop it,” she said.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments