Disinformation

Fake version of the Ukrainian news site UNIAN.

Tue, Mar 12, 2024

Doppelganger targets Ukrainian and French audiences via Facebook ads

The latest iteration of the Russian information operation reveals an increasing sophistication in tactics against Ukraine and other audiences

by Valentin Châtelet, Roman Osadchuk

Disinformation Europe & Eurasia
A man holds a Russian flag an orange and black "Z" symbol during the annual Immortal Regiment march in Moscow on Victory Day, May 9, 2022. The websites investigated in this report used the same version of the Z symbol in their online promotional materials. (Source: STR/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect)

Wed, Feb 21, 2024

Pro-Russia network spreads propaganda and disinfo in Latin America

Multi-platform operation amplifying Kremlin-aligned narratives published content in Portuguese and Spanish

by Beatriz Farrugia

Brazil Brazil

Tue, Feb 20, 2024

French prime minister faces onslaught of online attacks

Investment scam promoted via Meta Ads, AI-fueled smear campaigns on X, and a Russian-led disinformation operation, and ignite a social media frenzy around Gabriel Attal

by Valentin Châtelet

Advertising Artificial Intelligence

Thu, Feb 15, 2024

US celebrities unwittingly recruited to undermine Moldova’s president

Pro-Russian propagandists solicited US celebrities on Cameo to record videos calling for the downfall of Moldovan President Maia Sandu

by Victoria Olari

Deceptive Content Manipulation Disinformation
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev sign bilateral documents in Astana, Kazakhstan November 9, 2023. (Source: Sputnik/Konstantin Zavrazhin/Pool via Reuters)

Thu, Feb 8, 2024

Russian milbloggers falsely accuse Kazakhstan of opening a NATO military facility

Russian military bloggers threatened the Central Asian nation after it opened a new conference hall at a training center for UN peacekeepers, falsely labeling it as a "NATO center"

by Eto Buziashvili

Asia Central Asia

Thu, Feb 8, 2024

Pro-Kremlin campaign promotes “anti-Maidan” movement in Georgia

Georgian far-right party Alt-Info conducted a cross-platform social media campaign claiming the West was fomenting a coup against the country

by Sopo Gelava

Conflict Disinformation
generative art rendering of a swarm of bees surrounding the face of an elephant

Wed, Jan 24, 2024

How Ukraine fights Russian disinformation: Beehive vs mammoth

Best practices in countering Russian disinformation, propaganda and information aggression, based on interviews with nearly two dozen Ukrainian practitioners

by Jakub Kalenský, Roman Osadchuk

Civil Society Digital Policy
Brazilian Justice Luis Roberto Barroso, September 28, 2023. (Source: Mateus Bonomi/AGIF via Reuters Connect)

Thu, Jan 11, 2024

Pro-Bolsonaro social media accounts target Brazilian Supreme Court justice

Accounts advocating for the impeachment of Chief Justice Luis Roberto Barroso sought to delegitimize the Brazilian judiciary system

by Beatriz Farrugia, Esteban Ponce de León

Americas Brazil

Sat, Dec 23, 2023

Distortion by design: How social media platforms shaped our initial understanding of the Israel-Hamas conflict

Almost as soon as the Israel-Hamas war began, it collided with the engineering and policy decisions of social media companies. On Telegram, terrorist content spread mostly uncontested; on X, false claims proliferated. Accusations of anti-Palestinian bias at Meta and pro-Palestinian bias at TikTok added to the confusion. Can the platforms thread this needle?

by Emerson T. Brooking, Jacqueline Malaret, Layla Mashkoor

Thu, Dec 21, 2023

DFRLab research highlights from 2023

From the war in Ukraine to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, the DFRLab's international team of researchers investigated information operations and online harms around the world

by Andy Carvin, Layla Mashkoor

China Conflict
Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Commander of the Sparta Battalion Artyom Zhoga pose for a picture after a ceremony to present Gold Star medals to service members, bearing the title of Hero of Russia and involved in the country's military campaign in Ukraine, on the eve of Heroes of the Fatherland Day in Moscow, Russia, December 8, 2023. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS

Fri, Dec 15, 2023

Russian War Report: Putin to run for re-election in annexed regions of Ukraine

The Central Election Commission confirmed the possibility of holding presidential elections in illegally annexed Ukrainian territories.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Conflict Digital Policy
TikTok logo displayed on a phone screen and Russian flag displayed on a screen in the background are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on March 1, 2022. (Photo Illustration by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto)

Thu, Dec 14, 2023

Massive Russian influence operation targeted former Ukrainian defense minister on TikTok

Joint DFRLab-BBC Verify investigation exposes the largest information operation ever uncovered on the platform

by Roman Osadchuk

Conflict Corruption