While monitoring the information space, the Center for Countering Disinformation discovered a fake telegram bot posing as the official account of the Chernihiv Regional State Administration. This bot directs users to an anonymous Telegram channel that distributes misinformation.

“If you come across a fake Chernihiv regional military administration resource, block it and do not follow any links. The Center calls on Telegram channel administrators not to create fake pages of official government agencies, so as not to mislead readers”, the Center for Countering Disinformation urges.

Fake telegram channels from authorities or officials may be created to spread misinformation. For example, in mid-July 2023, attackers created a fake telegram channel with the name of the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov. This channel spread a fake that Budanov thanked Ukrainian patriots for the partisan special operation in Crimea. The news was replicated by both Ukrainian and pro-Kremlin media. Later it turned out that Kyrylo Budanov did not make such statements.

In November 2023, a fake page of the then Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, appeared on Telegram.