Russian vlogger on HIV scare: I was expecting it to become a meme

The Russian vlogger who was recently arrested in Quezon City for threatening to spread HIV in the Philippines said he does not have HIV and did the content hoping it would become a social media meme.

According to a report on “24 Oras,” 21-year-old Nikita Chekhov said he does not intend to create content that would negatively impact Filipinos.

“I do content for a living.  But never in a negative in any kind of form to anybody.  I’ve been making TikToks for Filipino audience too,” he said.

“I analyzed it and saw, that some Filipinos think of foreigners in a very stereotype way. I was getting many comments like ‘stop spreading your viruses, foreigner,’ ‘passport bro,’ ‘lbh,’ ‘HIV alert.’  Just for being me.  I was just doing some dances, silent TikToks, and still was getting that hate,” he added.

He continued, “And as a content creator, I analyzed, and thought how do I attract attention? And that’s how I came up with ‘Spread HIV’ thing – I literally said out loud what Filipinos were saying to me.  I was expecting it to become a meme.”

Chekhov said he does not have HIV and that he treats health matters seriously.

“I’m from Russia, where people treat health very seriously.  I’m absolutely clean and do not have HIV.  I do not have HIV and do not have intentions to spread it,” he said.

“I like Philippines and come here a lot.  I do not feel sorry for making that video.  But now I understand more about standards and rules of living with Filipinos,” he added.

On Thursday, Bureau of Immigration (BI) BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said Chekhov was arrested inside a condominium building in Quezon City.

The BI said Chekhov uploaded videos filmed in Bonifacio High Street, City Taguig in which he made claims that he intended to spread HIV during his stay in the country.

For the BI, Chekhov’s “rage bait” content sparked widespread concern and fear among residents and online users.

The bureau has coordinated the case with the Department of Health.

According to the BI, Chekhov is a native of Taganrog, Rostov Oblast, Russia. From Shanghai, China, he arrived in the Philippines as a tourist on January 15. He has no known relatives in the country. —LDF, GMA Integrated News