RF conducts information campaigns against Ukraine and Western countries
The Kremlin is implementing large-scale information campaigns against Ukraine and the West on social media to promote its own interests.
This was reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The report cited leaked documents describing Russia's large-scale information operations using social media.
For example, on September 17, Meta, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, banned Russian state media outlet Russia Today (RT) and “other related organizations” for “activities related to foreign interference.”
In addition, on September 13, the U.S. State Department announced sanctions against legal entities and individuals associated with RT. The agency accused them of participating in information operations, covert influence, and military procurement for the Kremlin, aimed at states in Europe, Africa, North and South America.
The report notes that Radio Liberty's Schemes investigative project analyzed thousands of leaked documents previously obtained by German and Estonian media. These documents describe the work of the Russian company Social Design Agency (SDA), which the US Department of Justice recently announced as part of the Kremlin's complex operations to implement and exert malicious influence called Dvynik.
According to the Schemes project, the Agency distributed fake official documents, including fabricated orders of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, which were used to “discredit the military and political leadership of Ukraine and demoralize the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
In addition, the SDA created fake documents allegedly from European government agencies, fake news allegedly from European media, and anti-Ukrainian memes that were widely distributed on social media.
“ISW assesses that Russia continues to make efforts to develop capabilities to use information operations on social media platforms to cause kinetic activity and interfere with elections, as well as destabilization efforts and sanctions evasion schemes,” the report says.
Author - Dmitriy Levchenko, 18/09/2024
