A video is circulating online showing a dialogue between an alleged Ukrainian serviceman and a civilian man. This was preceded by the fact that the “soldier” first allegedly walked along the side of the highway for almost 500 kilometers in the direction of Lviv, then stood on the side of the road for four hours, and no one stopped him, but the civilian man-driver in the video stopped in his car and “picked” him up.

In fact, this is a staged video. The dialogue between a civilian driver and a supposed military man is filmed by a person sitting in the back seat of the car and to whom the “military man” for some reason does not pay any attention, even when the video is shot from a very close angle. In turn, the driver reacts suspiciously calmly to the “military man’s” words about the alleged lack of money even for the bus; two years of captivity; that the “military man’s” community has already managed to “bury” him during this time, erecting a monument to him, etc.

In addition, the “military man” made a mistake when he said that he had been fighting since 2013, because the Russian-Ukrainian war began only in 2014. After all, the “military man” could not have walked almost 500 kilometers, as he claims in the video. After all, the average walking speed of a person is 4-5 km/h, and even if one walks continuously for 24 hours a day (which is physically almost impossible due to the need for rest, food, and sleep), it would take more than 100 hours (more than 4 days).

The purpose of this staged video is to widen the gap between the military and civilians, trying to instill guilt and shame in the latter. This is evidenced by the fact that the fake military man constantly alludes to the alleged indifference of Ukrainian society to Ukrainian defenders.

We previously wrote about a staged video that claims that “posters with the late Zelenskyi” have appeared in Kyiv.

In Russia, they want to create a whole separate international “fact-checking” association – the Global Fact-checking Network (GFCN), to unite those who share “Russian views and values”. As for the specific goals and values that the Russian so-called “fact-checkers” are going to defend, the Russians did not specify.

In general, the creation of such a quasi-organization became the main goal of the so-called international forum “Dialogue on Fakes 2.0” held in Moscow on November 20, which essentially brought together all the main Kremlin propagandists and their henchmen from around the world. The first, main panel of the discussion, whose participants included the voice of the Russian Foreign Ministry Mariia Zakharova, Steven Seagal, one of the main propagandists from Telegram - Mykhailo Zvinchuk (owner of the Telegram channel "Rybar"), as well as the general director of the TASS agency Andrii Kondrashov and others, can already say a lot about the level of the forum.

In addition to the usual rhetoric about the West continuing to aggressively “impose” its only correct point of view on others, while Russia remains an unwavering fighter for the truth, it was at this conference that they decided to announce the creation of a new international fact-checking association. Because those that already exist – meaning the global IFCN network and its European analogue EFCSN – in the opinion of Russians “sometimes only perform a political mission and sometimes have nothing in common with real objective fact-checking”. But the Russian association will be called upon to provide “a healthy alternative that will help make the world a better place”.

The founders of the international association even showed the code of a responsible fact-checker with the right words about objectivity, openness of methodology, which must be signed before joining the association. To emphasize that it is the Russian association of “fact-checkers” that is more open than its Western counterparts, Kondrashov even stated that “the American association annually checks its members for political loyalty”, because these organizations that are part of their association “only work out the interests of other countries”. True, this implies an independent audit conducted by auditors from different countries and checking, among other things, the compliance of the work.

During the latest monitoring of the information field of the countries of the Global South, the Center for Countering Disinformation identified a number of narratives that are beneficial to Russia, in particular:

- Ukrainian “peace plans” and “victory plans” boil down to drawing Western countries into the “conflict”;

- NATO troops are taking part in the war on the side of Ukraine;

- US military aid only prolongs the war in Ukraine and makes its diplomatic resolution impossible.

Among other things, news about the participation of North Korean troops in the Russian-Ukrainian war was covered in almost all countries in the region. The situation caused some concern – the media spread statements by world leaders about the threat to global security from the alliance of Russia and the DPRK. At the same time, in China this topic continues to be almost completely ignored.

Also, the attention of journalists in the Global South, as well as the entire world, was riveted on the presidential elections in the USA. Many opinion pieces appeared on how the results of the elections in the USA could influence the course of the war in Ukraine. In Latin America, they wrote about a diplomatic settlement of the war.

The prospects of BRICS remain a hot topic in Chinese media. It was said that BRICS could become a “powerful platform for a major overhaul” of the current system of international order, which a number of influential states in the Global South consider unfair.

In turn, in the Middle East, the media discussed the West’s “double standards” regarding the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and demanded more attention from the world community to the civilian casualties resulting from the bombing of Gaza.

A number of propaganda Telegram channels are distributing a manipulative animated video, which illustrates a conversation between a boy and a personified school board and the sun (cartoon characters). The boy asks them why his father was forcibly taken away by the Territorial center of recruitment and social support workers, to which the school board replies that they were doing their duty, and that it was wrong that the boy's father “did not want to go”. After this, the sun joins the conversation and continues to promote manipulative rhetoric.

However, some words and phrases used in the cartoon exposed the propagandists. For example, the video contains the phrase “they don't choose a duty”, which is a tracing of the Russian "they don't choose an obligation". In addition, the cartoon contains a number of other manipulative cliches inherent in Russian propaganda: “either you fulfill your duty, or you are a coward and a traitor”; “if he didn't leave on his own, then they did the right thing by taking him away”.

Also, having taken a screenshot of the video, using the reverse image search function from Google, it was possible to find out that on the YouTube platform there is a training video with a similar background as in the fake cartoon, about how to create animated videos. That is, most likely, the propagandists used this video tutorial to create a fake cartoon about the Territorial center of recruitment and social support workers.

After all, this animated video is being distributed primarily in the pro-Russian segment of the Internet, which gives additional grounds to believe that it is a fake.

Earlier, we recorded a Russian fake about a cartoon “Ukrainian piglets” being shown in EU countries.

John Mark Dugan, a former Palm Beach County deputy sheriff, became an active propagandist after fleeing to Moscow. He is financed by a Moscow institute created by the ideologist of the Russian world Oleksandr Dugin. This was discovered by specialists from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security.

Currently, Dugan is focused on discrediting US Vice President Kamala Harris, creating fakes and disinformation to weaken the Democratic Party ahead of the US elections. His contact at the Center for Geopolitical Expertise, Valerii Korovin, has been personally noted by Putin, and investigations have shown that Moscow is using fake news and artificial intelligence to influence US voters, created with the active participation of Dugan.

Such disinformation is intended to undermine trust in American leaders, sow discord among citizens, and increase the chances of candidates loyal to Russian interests coming to power. It is part of a broader campaign to spread Russian influence and weaken U.S. democratic institutions.

Russian propaganda, including internet trolls and Kremlin-controlled media, have been spreading deepfakes on American social media aimed at discrediting US presidential candidate Kamala Harris. The materials were created using artificial intelligence.

This was reported by Bloomberg, citing a Microsoft study. DEV.ua journalists claim that the report states that Russian propaganda tactics included fake posts and fabricated images that allegedly came from verified sources, but the goal was to spread negative information about Harris. One of these fakes was audio in which she allegedly discussed her opponent Donald Trump.

However, the attempts to discredit him had limited success. Only one video, published by an RT correspondent on the X platform in late September, became very popular.

Microsoft warns that artificial intelligence will be just one part of a larger digital manipulation effort aimed at influencing elections.

Russia's so-called soft power instruments are aimed not only at young people, but also at minors in Europe. The Hello, Russia program, organized by the Russian state agency Rossotrudnichestvo, offers children and teenagers aged 14 to 19 weeks of all-expenses-paid trips to Russian cities, accompanied by patriotic events. The target audience is children with Russian roots who grew up abroad and speak Russian as a second native language. About a thousand young people from all over the world, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland, take part in the program every year, according to Czech investigators from the Investigace project.

They found that the program includes visits to historical and cultural monuments of Russia, as well as elements of patriotic education. Young people take part in events honoring the memory of Soviet soldiers, visit museums dedicated to Russian history and weapons, and meet with religious figures promoting “traditional family values”. In addition to cultural activities, the program offers two specializations for older participants: media, where young people visit the editorial offices of state media, or history, where excursions are held to archives and scientific institutions. The main goal of the program is to strengthen ties between young people of Russian origin living abroad and Russia through cultural, historical, and patriotic measures to attract new generations to the idea of the “Russian world”.

The program is part of a broader Russian strategy to spread its influence abroad and strengthen pro-Russian sentiments among young people with Russian roots. Such initiatives help to form a positive image of Russia among young Europeans, even in the context of the country’s military aggression against Ukraine. The program is an example of using “soft power” to prepare a new generation to support Russian propaganda and the “traditional values” that Moscow promotes as an alternative to the “liberal Western world”. In this way, Russia also tries to legitimize its actions on the international stage by creating a network of young people who will support its policies and spread pro-Russian views in their countries.

Andrii Lovych, an employee of the office of German Bundestag member Zacklin Nastych, participated in the Conference on a Multipolar World led by Oleksandr Dugin, a well-known Russian nationalist who supports Russia's aggression against Ukraine and advocates the destruction of Ukrainian statehood. In his speech, Lovych supported anti-Western positions and spoke out against Western “colonialists”, which clearly reflect pro-Russian narratives, according to German investigators from Correctiv.

This case is particularly important in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine due to the fact that Nastych is a member of the Defense Committee, where sensitive issues related to German defense and support for Ukraine are discussed. This raises serious concerns that information critical to the defense of Europe could be used to advance pro-Russian interests or even passed on to Russia.  Lovych is also an active promoter of Serbian nationalism and has close ties to pro-Russian circles, including far-right Serbian politician Arnaud Gouillon, suspected of spying for Russia and Serbia. These ties are important because Serbia remains one of the few European countries that maintains close relations with Moscow, especially in the context of the war against Ukraine. Lovych is an active speaker in Serbian media that promotes pro-Russian narratives and propaganda. His rhetoric coincides with them, including that the West is allegedly responsible for global conflicts, in particular in the Balkans and Ukraine. Such statements strengthen pro-Russian influences in Europe, contribute to the spread of disinformation and undermine support for Ukraine in the fight against the aggressor. Zaklina Nastych, Lovych’s boss, also has pro-Russian sympathies, opposing Western support for Ukraine and defending Serbia on the Kosovo issue.

This situation shows how important the role of informational and political support for Russia is from some European circles that openly sympathize with the Kremlin or have pro-Russian ties. Such individuals can contribute to the spread of disinformation, the undermining of international support for Ukraine and the general weakening of the European front against Russian aggression. This is another example of how Russia is trying to influence politics in European countries through its allies and sympathizers, using anti-Western narratives and propaganda to further legitimize its aggression against Ukraine and other countries.

The Center for Countering Disinformation reported that the Russians created a fake website that outwardly copies the official web portal of the State Border Service of Ukraine. The purpose of creating this website is to spread disinformation and steal personal data of Ukrainian citizens. Thanks to the measures taken, the resource imitating the official website of the State Border Service of Ukraine was blocked.

The official page of the State Border Service of Ukraine is located at this web address: https://dpsu.gov.ua/

The  Center for Countering Disinformation adds that it is possible to distinguish a real page from a fake one using its domain: only official websites of the government portal have the gov.ua domain.

Earlier we wrote about eight fake chats that copied the official “Main Intelligence Bot”.

On October 14-15, more than 1,500 fake bomb threats were sent out in Ukraine, targeting schools, universities, business centers, media, courts, and diplomatic missions, including the US Embassy. Among the institutions that received these letters were also more than 60 Ukrainian embassies abroad, the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security reports.

The author of the letters accused Radio Svoboda (Liberty) journalists Iryna Sysak, Valeriia Yehoshyna and Yuliia Khymeryk. The reason was their investigation into the FSB recruiting children to commit arson. Investigators from Scheme established that the sender of the letters lives in occupied Crimea and has a Russian passport. The letters were signed on behalf of the Fire Cells Group, a group that calls for attacks on Ukrainian military personnel and the Territorial center of procurement and social support employees via Telegram, promising a reward of up to $1,000 for the execution of crimes.

The SBU considers these actions to be part of a Russian information and psychological operation aimed at increasing panic and destabilizing society, in particular by undermining trust in government institutions and the military.

On October 14, 2024, the Russian propaganda media school RT (Russia Today. - Ed.) Academy launched its first educational course for African journalists. The training is conducted by media experts, in particular employees of the RT and Ruptly channels. According to RT, representatives of 35 African countries are participating in the project.

In turn, the Center for Countering Disinformation writes that in fact, through such media projects, Russia is trying to expand its connections and influence in African countries. It is also about recruiting African journalists who, after training, can spread pro-Russian narratives in their countries.

This is not the only project aimed at strengthening Russian influence in the region, the CPI adds. Russia is also increasing so-called cultural cooperation with African states, opening “Russian houses” that are in fact a cover for conducting information operations and promoting Kremlin propaganda.

In addition, RT signed a memorandum with the Egyptian TV channel Sada El Balad, which broadcasts statements by Russian officials and manipulative materials about Ukraine.

Read also: What the Global South media writes about Ukraine

Russian propagandists used the flooding in Poland to create anti-Ukrainian sentiment and sow discord between Ukrainians and Poles. One of the main messages was that supporting Ukraine allegedly weakens Poland's ability to help its citizens. Propagandists spread information that Ukrainian refugees received more aid than the affected Poles, which caused negative emotions and fueled discontent. This is written by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security.

Examples of manipulations:

Accusations against Ukrainians of looting in areas evacuated due to flooding.

Using fake videos and data from other countries to exaggerate the scale of the disaster.

Manipulation of the numbers of dead and missing in order to distort the real state of affairs.

According to the PAP press agency, from September 13 to 25, 23,000 disinformation messages were recorded online, reaching around eight million users. The campaign also aimed to incite hostility, weaken the strategic alliance between Poland and Ukraine, and undermine unity in confronting Russian aggression. This is part of a broader information war aimed at isolating Ukraine on the international stage and reducing support among key partners. In response, the Polish authorities emphasize the continuation of comprehensive assistance to Ukraine in the fight against the aggressor.

Experts at the Center for Countering Disinformation monitor the media in the Global South for narratives that are beneficial to Russia. They have identified several of these.

On the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israeli territory, some Middle Eastern media wrote about the double standards of the West regarding the war in Ukraine and the war in Gaza. It was noted that “violations of international humanitarian law are condemned in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine, but are not condemned in the case of Israel”.

In addition, some Middle Eastern media outlets actively disseminated statements by Russian officials that “the current confrontation between Russia and the West is unprecedented” and that the United States is “paving the way to a nuclear conflict”. 

As a reminder, the term Global South refers to countries that the World Bank considers to be low- and middle-income countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. All countries with a per capita GDP of over $15,000 are considered part of the Global North, except for Bulgaria and Romania, which are members of the European Union. By this definition, both Russia and Ukraine are in the Global South, as are China and India. Some geographically southern countries, such as Chile and Uruguay, are classified as part of the Global North based on their per capita GDP.

The Global South is not homogeneous. Attitudes toward Russia’s aggression vary greatly in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Some experts argue that the Global South has generally taken a neutral stance toward Russia’s war against Ukraine. Turkey, for example, is trying to mediate Russia’s war against Ukraine by facilitating a grain deal and participating in a prisoner exchange. Brazil is proposing its own “peace plan” to resolve Russia’s war against Ukraine. And China and South Africa are conducting joint naval exercises with Russia. Recent opinion polls in China, Turkey, and India show that residents of these countries clearly want the war to end as soon as possible, even if that means Ukraine has to make territorial concessions.

The Center for Countering Disinformation reports that Russian programmers are developing the game together with the Russian Defense Ministry. The game's creators claim that they will add ‘educational elements’ by modeling the game on military campaigns in Ukraine.

‘The authors promise realistic tactics and varied missions, in particular, defensive operations in various landscapes, depending on the skills of the vault fighters in constructing and fortifying their positions’.

And before the game's creators began creating the product itself, as the propaganda media says, they consulted with ‘invasion participants’ in Ukraine.

Propaganda happens everywhere and analyzes what content we consume. Even in a reasonable tone, Russia is able to fill the mind with its agenda. After all, at first glance, something absurd or funny helps the aggressor country to distract attention, reducing vigilance. This generally reduces resistance to Russian propaganda. Accordingly, in this way, through video games, people can, without suspecting it, absorb what Russia spreads on television, on anonymous Telegram channels and on other platforms.

Read also: Dive into the virtual world and come back as a ‘vatnik’: how Russia spreads its propaganda through video games.

Russian authorities have blocked the Discord messenger, popular mainly among gamers and students. The blocking of Discord did not stop even the fact that it is used by the Russian military. Now “war correspondents” (that is, the same propagandists) are criticizing Roskomnadzor, accusing it of almost sabotage.

The formal reason for blocking is the presence of “illegal and extremist content” and the unwillingness of the messenger’s management to remove publications at the request of the Russian authorities. However, as reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation, the Kremlin’s decision to block yet another Internet resource of Western origin is part of a strategy to isolate Russians from information so that they do not have access to any information alternative to Russian propaganda.

Earlier, Russian authorities blocked Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X and some other resources. YouTube is facing restrictions in its work. The CPI adds that the blocking of independent resources in Russia will probably continue until the creation of the so-called "sovereign Internet" completely controlled by the Kremlin.

The Russians are spreading information that the volume of steel production in the occupied territories allegedly increased by 25% in 2023 - it is about 2.33 million tons. In reporting this, the propagandists refer to the Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov.

However, in reality, the figures cited by the Russian official are meager compared to the volume of work of the metallurgical industry in the region before the full-scale invasion and occupation. The Azovstal plant alone, which the Russians destroyed with massive shelling, produced twice as much steel in 2021 as the entire current metallurgical industry in the occupied territories. This is written by the Center for Countering Disinformation.

By talking about “successes”, the Russian minister is pushing a propaganda narrative that Russia is allegedly bringing stability, investment, and economic development to the occupied regions, something that did not exist under Ukrainian control. In this way, he is trying to justify the occupation of Ukrainian territories and create the illusion of greater prospects for the region.

Earlier we wrote that in the occupied territories the Kremlin has stepped up measures of so-called disruptions.

A video of a drone hitting one of the towers of the Moscow City business center on July 30, 2023 was distributed in the Russian segment of the Internet, and this attack was presented as a strike on the Israeli city of Eilat on October 1, 2024. To make the video more believable, Hebrew text was added to the video.

To verify that this is a still frame of the explosion in the Moscow City business center area, it is enough to use Google's reverse image search tool. Thus, it was possible to find out that the corresponding video appeared online in July 2023 after the attack on Moscow.

It should be noted that this is not the only ancient video that has been passed off as an Iranian attack on Israel on October 1, 2024. Logically Facts fact-checkers have recorded and debunked a number of other similar cases.

Thus, the propagandists are trying to exaggerate the consequences of the recent attack on Israeli cities. Israel, in turn, admits that some Iranian missiles did hit air bases, but assures that this did not cause significant damage to infrastructure or weapons.

We previously analyzed the Russian message that the wars in Ukraine and Israel are “not an accident”, since the United States is allegedly creating unstable zones with its own hands.

Russian cybercriminals from the Evil Corp. group have been sanctioned by the US, UK and Australia, according to experts from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security.

The cybercriminal group is responsible for creating and distributing the Dridex malware, which was used to infect computers and steal credentials from hundreds of banks and financial institutions in more than 40 countries. The attacks cost US and international financial institutions and their customers more than $100 million, according to the US Treasury and the UK government.

The following were subject to sanctions:

- Maksym Yakubets, who headed the group's activities for a long time and developed close ties between Evil Corp. and the Russian special services, the FSB and the GRU.

- Eduard Benderskyi, a former FSB officer, and Oleksandr Ryzhenkov, a friend of Yakubets, accused of using the BitPaymer ransomware to attack American citizens.

- Victor Yakubets, father of Maksym Yakubets.

Britain has imposed sanctions on 16 members of the Evil Corp group, including asset freezes and entry bans.

The Center for Countering Disinformation reports that a large number of propaganda events are taking place in the occupied territories of Ukraine, where Russia draws parallels between the present and the events of World War II. In particular, the DPR court recognized the crimes of the Nazis in the region during World War II as genocide. Russia is presented as the heir to the “great victory” over Nazism, and its aggression against Ukraine is portrayed as a continuation of this struggle.

Also, in the occupied territories, thematic events to attract the public are constantly organized, propaganda films are released and broadcast. The Center for Countering Disinformation writes that in this way, Kremlin propaganda seeks to change the historical memory and consciousness of the residents of the occupied territories, drawing them into a single Russian socio-cultural space.

The Kremlin uses manipulations on the topic of World War II to consolidate support among the population and create the image of an “external enemy”. By speculating on the topic of the “heroic past”, the occupation authorities seek to distract the attention of the local population from economic and social difficulties, as well as from the repressions that “unreliable” residents of the occupied territories systematically experience.

Kremlin propaganda has launched a large-scale information campaign for the anniversary of the pseudo-referendums in the occupied territories. This was reported by the Center for Counteracting Disinformation.

Pro-Russian resources on the Internet cite statements by Putin and Kremlin-controlled Gauleiters regarding the so-called “reunification holiday”. Propaganda mass actions are also being held to create a “festive atmosphere”.

The Kremlin promotes the “happy occupation” narrative, constantly emphasizing how the occupied territories are supposedly “flourishing” under the Russian flag. In this way, Russia justifies the war against Ukraine.

The CPD adds that in reality all the Kremlin's statements about “improving life” in the occupied territories are outright and cynical lies, the purpose of which is to distract the population from the war crimes of the Russian army in Ukraine. The occupied territories are in a humanitarian crisis due to Russian aggression, destruction of infrastructure and violation of human rights. Life in the occupied territories is accompanied by repression and violence against the local civilian population.

Thanks to the Serbian government's control over media and a favorable political environment, RT (formerly Russia Today) uses its office in Belgrade to adapt Kremlin narratives and spread them throughout southeastern Europe. Reporters Without Borders (RSF), in its explanation of RT Balkan, calls on the European Union and its member states to hold Serbia accountable for hosting the video.

In September 2024, RSF approached RT with questions about the purpose of the new Balkan bureau and its relationship with the Russian government. RT immediately responded sarcastically: “We created RT Balkan with the sole purpose of annoying Reporters Without Borders”. This response underlines the provocative political nature of RT, which positions itself as a counterweight to organizations defending a free, independent and pluralistic press. However, this response also shows that RT is unwilling to be open about its goals or its ties to the government, as would be expected from a truly independent media outlet.

RT Balkan was officially launched on November 15, 2022, as an online broadcaster and multimedia website in the Serbian language. Although the TV channel never operated, RT Balkan quickly became the main tool of Russian propaganda in the Balkans. RT chose Serbia because of historical ties, shared Slavic culture and Orthodox religion, which created a favorable environment for Kremlin propaganda. Also importantly, the Serbian government controls a significant part of the media market, which it uses to spread its own propaganda. RT Balkan employs tactics such as “information laundering”, where disinformation published by RT is turned into “news” and distributed by mainstream media in the region. Through its presence in Serbia, RT actively amplifies Kremlin narratives across the region, particularly through social media and popular Serbian TV channels and newspapers.

An unknown person created a deepfake of Dmytro Kuleba to hold a conversation with a US senator via Zoom, posing as the former Ukrainian Foreign Minister. According to The New York Times, the attacker was able to communicate with the head of the US Foreign Affairs Committee Benjamin Cardin, asking politically provocative questions, including about support for the launch of long-range missiles at Russia. The behavior of “Kuleba” aroused the senator's suspicions, and he ended the conversation. Later, the US State Department confirmed that the senator had dealt with a fraudster using deepfake technology. This was reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security.

The purpose of such a deepfake was likely to obtain confidential information, stir up political controversy, or discredit the Ukrainian government and its international partners. Although the Kremlin’s involvement in this incident has not yet been confirmed, the questions raised during the conversation were clearly of interest to the Russian side.

Such technologies are increasingly being used for manipulation and disinformation. For example, on September 17, Russian propagandists released a deepfake with the former deputy head of the Presidential Office Rostyslav Shurma, in which he allegedly called for ending the war on Russia's terms. Also, before the Paris Olympics, Russian hackers spread deepfakes and disinformation about these competitions, trying to sow chaos and mistrust.

According to the State Special Communications Service, cybercriminals are sending Ukrainian military personnel emails with fake information about the latest weapons. The emails are accompanied by a file containing a RARSFX archive, which contains an EXE installer with the SPECTR malware. This virus collects confidential information, including passwords. In addition, hackers carry out attacks through the Signal messenger, where they send shortcut files that infect devices and allow remote access to the victims' data.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security notes that this cyber group was created before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and consists of collaborators and former employees of Ukrainian law enforcement agencies.

The purpose of such cyber attacks is to undermine the ability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to effectively defend the country and destabilize the situation at the front by breaking information systems. By collecting confidential data, including passwords and other important information, hackers can gain access to military plans, unit locations and other critical information, which can jeopardize both military operations and the lives of Ukrainian servicemen. In addition, Russia actively uses cyber attacks for information warfare to discredit Ukraine's defense capabilities in the eyes of the international community, presenting these breaks as weaknesses in the protection of critical infrastructure.

German media outlets Süddeutsche Zeitung, NDR and WDR, as well as the Estonian online publication Delfi, have gained access to leaked internal documents of the Agency for Social Design (ASD), an organization under EU and US sanctions. According to US law enforcement agencies, this agency works on behalf of the Russian presidential administration.

Journalists from Schemes (Radio Liberty), together with a number of European editorial offices, examined thousands of files obtained as part of the leak. As part of the Fake Factory project, they found out that ASD, under the leadership of Russian political strategist Illia Gambashidze, is engaged in disseminating disinformation to discredit Ukraine, its leadership and citizens, as well as Western leaders who support Ukraine. At the same time, the agency promotes Russian interests and supports European politicians who promote these interests.

Some of the documents from this leak were published by American law enforcement in early September, when they filed a motion to seize Internet domains associated with ASD. According to anonymous sources in Western intelligence, the files obtained by journalists are authentic.

ASD positions itself as an organization providing customers with full media support, including analysis of the Western information space, identification of potential threats, proposal of solutions and their implementation. The leak contains a video presentation of the company, presumably created for customers, where its director, Illia Gambashidze, appears. In the presentation, Gambashidze takes off his glasses and hood, stating that there is no point in hiding anymore, since the Doppelganger campaign was exposed by French intelligence.

The Doppelganger campaign involved creating fake websites of well-known publications, such as France's Le Monde and Germany's Der Spiegel, to discredit Ukraine. The fake news also covered Germany, the US, and Israel. Meta called Doppelganger the largest Russian information operation since 2017.

American law enforcement directly accuses ASD of working for the Kremlin and names its activities as being supervised by Serhii Kiriienko, deputy head of the administration of Russian President Volodymyr Putin. In addition, Sofiia Zakharova, an employee of the Putin administration, who, according to American intelligence agencies, took part in planning disinformation campaigns, was also involved in the Doppelganger campaign.

According to the documents, the ASD’s activities are carried out in three main areas:

Monitoring – analysis of the media space and opinions of more than 1000 public opinion leaders in six languages.

Analytics – studying the target audience and creating topics for further use.

Creative – creating fake articles and visual content that looks authentic to the target audience.

According to the leak, between January and April 2024 alone, the SDA created 39,899 pieces of content, including posts, videos, articles, memes, and special messages that are part of disinformation campaigns. The agency is also involved in distributing fake official documents.

In the leak, the journalists of Schemes found examples of forgeries of Ukrainian government documents. Among them are orders allegedly from the Office of the President of Ukraine and the Ministry of Defense, which were aimed at discrediting the Ukrainian government and military, accusing them of censorship and concealment of information.

Russian Telegram channels and pro-Russian users of the social network X are distributing a video allegedly published by the BBC. The material says that Polish schoolchildren allegedly do not want to study together with Ukrainian children because of the latter’s “low academic performance and bad behavior”. In turn, Polish parents are even allegedly ready to bribe the directors of local schools just to protect their children from studying in mixed classes. However, this is fake.

The video clip being distributed online has nothing to do with the BBC, Ukrinform journalists report. There is no corresponding clip on the British Broadcasting Corporation's website or on its official social media pages.

Additionally, all BBC videos on YouTube Shorts recently contain information about when they were released. However, the fake video does not have a publication date.

Russian propaganda faked the video using photos and videos found on the Internet. Some of them do not even concern Ukraine. For example, the frame with which the video begins appeared online back in 2021 - it can be found on foreign websites.

It should also be noted that earlier the Russians distributed a fake video on behalf of the BBC, which concerned the “mass use of Nazi symbols” by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region. The audio track in that video matches the audio track present in the video about the negative attitude towards Ukrainian schoolchildren in Poland.

With this fake, propagandists are trying to sow discord between Ukrainians and Poles, as well as weaken relations between Ukraine and Poland. Earlier, we refuted the information that the Volyn tragedy will not be studied in Polish schools where Ukrainian children study.