Snapchat throws shade at Facebook with Russian bot filter

Snapchat is taking full advantage of Facebook’s position in the news cycle on April Fools’ Day this year with a genius amount of shade. After trolling Facebook last year with a lighthearted Instagram-style filter, Snapchat is going one step further with a Facebook filter that’s designed to recreate Russian bots liking your posts. The filter places a Facebook UI around your photo with Cyrillic script-like text, and even includes likes from “your mum” and “a bot.”

The Cyrillic script is an obvious nod to Russia, and the news that more than 50,000 bots on Facebook, with links to the Russian government, were used to influence the 2016 US presidential election. The “your mum” like is also a hint at Facebook’s older user base, and Snapchat used the same joke during its Instagram April Fools’ last year. Snapchat’s filter will only be available today, for the annual idiocy of April Fools’ Day.

Snapchat recently unveiled a new design to fight back against Instagram, and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel has previously shown he’s frustrated by Facebook steadily stealing Snapchat’s features and ideas for years. Facebook has lifted face filters, camera features, stories, and even messaging streaks from Snapchat. Spiegel previously hit back at Facebook for its fake news problem, and this latest filter makes it obvious that Snap won’t stop throwing obvious shade at its main competitor.