The consequences of the war in Ukraine have already crossed borders and the escalation of inflation and energy prices are a good example of this. more or talk show This Morning has found an opportunity to turn crisis into entertainment. This time, station ITV’s morning show offered viewers the chance to ‘win’ four months’ worth of their electricity bill in their wheel of luck competition.

The draw took place last Monday, but it was not looked at lightly or comically by many, even generating controversy. Netizens on social media criticized the show and its hosts, Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, for the apparent lightness with which they handled the situation. Some even went so far as to classify the rubric as “dystopian”, and remind one of the well-known science fiction series Black Mirror.

The case came just days after the Russian group Gazprom completely halted the supply of Russian natural gas to Europe through the Nord Stream pipeline, in a move that has been seen as an act of blackmail and will have a significant impact on energy prices.

After all, Nord Stream will not reopen this Saturday. Gazprom says new technical problems have been found

In the face of criticism, the production of the program ended up making changes in the category and the electricity bill premium ended up being replaced by the opportunity for the competitors to have all their household bills paid. “I want to see what people are saying about this online,” Schofield said at the end of the segment, even earning smiles from his co-host.

Russian TV advertises English wheel of fortune

The episode even ended up on Russian state television, as Francis Scarr, a BBC journalist who watches and reports on Russia-1 state television, put it: on your twitter accountwhere he posted an image of the channel’s broadcast with reporter Olga Skabeyeva along with a video of This Morning’s wheel of fortune.

https://t.co/FgShF4iSnD pic.twitter.com/as8H3VEJVQ

— Francisco Scarr (@francis_scarr) September 6, 2022

“Contestants could also win £1,000 or £3,000, but judging by the crazy prices that have gone up 80% each time, it’s clearly much better to win the energy bill prize,” Skabeyeva joked. The Kremlin’s state channel is one of the most important propaganda weapons of the government of Vladimir Putin, and the use of talk show The British government conforms to Russian rhetoric that the West is to blame for the current energy crisis.

The West has vowed to reduce reliance on Russian natural gas, but it has not been an easy task: recent data estimates that Russia earned €158 billion from fossil fuel exports in the first six months of the war.