Patrick Lancaster | |
|---|---|
| Born | Missouri, United States |
| Occupation | Vlogger |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Genres | |
| Subscribers | 882 thousand |
| Views | 85 million |
| Last updated: August 2025 | |
Patrick Lancaster is an Americanvlogger, described as aUS Military veteran being used by Russia to help spreadRussian propaganda about theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[1][2][3][4] Lancaster has also been widely accused of filming staged scenes in hisYouTube videos and spreadingdisinformation.[5][6][7][8]
Lancaster is originally fromMissouri in theUnited States of America.[9][10] From 2001 to 2006 he was a sailor in theUS Navy specializing as acryptologic technician and rising to the rank ofpetty officer third class. He sailed on theUSS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) from 2002 to 2006.[7]
Lancaster arrived in Ukraine in March 2014 to cover the aftermath of theMaidan revolution, settling inDonetsk later that year.[5] From 2015 on, Lancaster has primarily created videos for his own YouTube channel.[11]
Lancaster has produced videos in which he describes finding skeletal remains fromMalaysia Airlines Flight 17, and has claimed the flight was shot down by Ukrainian forces.[12][13][14][5] MH17 victims' families have criticized Lancaster's lack of regard for their loved ones' remains, and Dutch media has accused him of exploiting the tragedy.[15][16][17][verify paraphrase]
Lancaster has vlogged mostly from Russian-controlled territories of Ukraine since 2022, in the early days of the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine,Vice Media andNBC News described him as the most popular of the pro-Kremlin influencers spreading Russian propaganda and disinformation onYouTube.[11] Investigative journalism agencyBellingcat has reported that Lancaster's videos have exposed a staged Russian IED attack, and revealed the identity of a Russian perpetrator of awar crime.[3][4] In 2024, Lancaster's videos from Russia's Kursk region in the context of Ukraine'sKursk campaign showed local residents speaking positively about theUkrainian army.[18]
In late April 2025, Lancaster gave an interview toTucker Carlson where he dismissed claims ofNorth Korean troops in Russia, stating that he had not found them "not for the lack of trying".[19][non-primary source needed] In September 2025, the rulingpro-Russian party inGeorgia banned Lancaster from entering the country.[20]
Over the years, Lancaster has sporadically created videos on theNagorno-Karabakh conflict for his YouTube channel.[11] Lancaster has been accused of producingfake news and staged videos on the conflict.[6]
The most popular of the pro-Kremlin influencers identified by researchers is Patrick Lancaster, aMissouri-born Navy intelligence veteran and self-described independent crowdfunded journalist embedded with the Russian army. Since December, Lancaster's YouTube channel has grown from 57,500 subscribers to more than 500,000, with daily dispatches from Russian-occupied Ukraine. His videos are often breathless reports with graphic footage of dead bodies, violence for which Lancaster claims Ukraine is responsible. The scene in at least one video was reportedly staged. Lancaster often appears on Russian state media and on the Texas-based conspiracy theory radio show "Infowars." Below Lancaster's YouTube videos, he posts, "I show what the western media will not show you."