23 June, 08:35
Social catastrophes—war, pandemics, terrorist attacks—create conditions of deep emotional stress in which collective behavior becomes increasingly irrational.
This phenomenon is particularly relevant in the context of the war in Ukraine, where the combination of traumatic experience, a sense of helplessness, and the need for compassion forms a fertile ground for psychological manipulation. The case of Nazariy Husakov is only one symptom of a deeper systemic problem: the distortion of moral judgment under stress and the exploitation of humanitarian impulses as a tool of fraud.
Rationality in Collapse: Cognitive Mechanisms of Behavior During War
In the context of prolonged social stress, the cognitive system of the individual undergoes defragmentation. A person becomes unable to operate with complex reasoning — instead, emotional impulsivity takes over, oriented toward the simplest schemas: "friend vs. foe", "pain — help", "victim — rescue". This phenomenon has long been studied in neuropsychology as a shift from the neocortex to the limbic system of reactions (cf. LeDoux, The Emotional Brain, 1996).
In such conditions, narratives of suffering come to the forefront, presented in visually striking, emotionally loaded forms. The public, exhausted by information and morality, reacts more with the body than with the mind — clicking “donate” without demanding verification.
Humanism as a Commodity: The Instrumentalization of Empathy
The instinctive need "to be humane" in extraordinary circumstances becomes a resource. Fraudsters, marketers, and even legal businesses quickly learn to capitalize on empathy, turning moral reaction into a channel for financial flow.
The case of Nazariy Husakov is not an exception, but rather a typical example, where:
a visually convincing image of a "fighter against illness" in the context of war was created;
an infantilized communication frame was chosen (child, tears, “struggle”), which lowers critical perception;
a financial infrastructure was established via online casinos and anonymous donations, which not only allowed for money laundering but also generated considerable profit from donations.
Technically, this is a marketing campaign in extreme ethical conditions. And the role of the "hero" here is functional — he serves to collect emotion and redirect it into financial streams.
Collective Vulnerability as a Structural Condition for Fraud
The key question is not whether Husakov was a fraud, but rather, why the mass audience stopped asking questions. The mechanism of trust works in reverse: the greater the trauma, the lower the demand for truth.
This is the antinomy of wartime humanism: in an effort to remain humane, society becomes open to schemes that exploit this very humanity. Psychologically, this can be described as sublimation of guilt: people donate money to not feel powerless, to “do something” at least.
The Fraudster’s Strategy: Creating False Action
Fraudulent campaigns in such conditions are based on creating an illusion of action. By clicking "donate", a person believes they are contributing to the fight against evil — war, illness, poverty. But this action has no effect, except for psychological relief. It is a micro-dose of conscience appeasement, which is sold by campaign organizers.
This mechanism is well described in the work of social psychologist Leon Festinger (A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance, 1957): a person changes beliefs or actions not in search of truth, but to reduce internal tension.
Conclusion: Ethics Under Catastrophe Is Always a Risk Zone
Every era of war produces its own heroes, martyrs, and fraudsters. The problem lies not in the image, but in the fact that society loses the ability to distinguish where humanity ends and its exploitation begins. The lesson of the Husakov case is not to find a scapegoat, but to learn how to recognize the traps of humanitarianism under conditions of mass trauma.
Key references for further study:
Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow (2011)
Joseph LeDoux, The Emotional Brain (1996)
Leon Festinger, A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance (1957)
Martha Nussbaum, Upheavals of Thought: The Intelligence of Emotions (2001)
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