A digital war: Russia is using fake Ukrainian social media profiles to promote its propaganda

By Alma Fabiani

Published Mar 1, 2022 at 11:55 AM

Reading time: 1 minute

28077

While it’s no surprise that the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine has been broadcast through a filter of propaganda in Moscow—“where the authorities are concerned that ordinary Russians will be disgusted by scenes of missiles striking Kyiv,” The Guardian reported—it’s now been revealed that a Russian propaganda campaign called ‘Ukraine Today’ has been using fake accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to promote more lies about the war.

On 28 February 2022, NBC News reported that Facebook and Twitter removed fake profiles pretending to be pro-Russia Ukrainians over the weekend. One account was using the name Vladimir Bondarenko and pretending to be a blogger from Kyiv. The user’s computer-generated photo looked almost real, besides a weird bend in his ear. Another fake profile coming from the Russian troll farm pretended to be Irina Kerimova, a Kharkiv-based guitar teacher-turned editor-in-chief of the Ukraine Today website. Like Bondarenko, her photo seemed scarily legit.

At the time, another disinformation campaign tied to a known Belarusian hacking group used hacked accounts (instead of completely made-up ones) to push similar anti-Ukraine propaganda, according to Nathaniel Gleicher, Meta’s head of security policy, who talked to NBC News. The organisation in question has ties with two other websites called ‘News Front’ and ‘South Front’, which the US government has already designated as disinformation outlets.

The sites, both among the Russian propaganda profiles analysed by the US Department of State in 2020, have pushed misleading articles aiming to spread Kremlin talking points. News Front’s recent headlines include “Putin has earned his trust” and “‘Our Russia has come’: residents of liberated territories thank Russian Armed Forces.”

Disinformation experts warned that Russia is expected to continue manipulating narratives about Ukraine—most notably around the claims made by President Vladimir Putin. In other words, the country is very much counting on these disinformation strategies first identified during the 2016 US presidential election, albeit with some advancements (most notably the use of AI that can create realistic human faces). The fact that a new study has proven how AI-generated fake faces are more trustworthy than real ones does not help this case either.

According to a spokesperson, Twitter removed over a dozen profiles tied to News Front and South Front that were attempting to “disrupt the public conversation around the ongoing conflict.” Facebook said it took down 40 profiles related to the propaganda organisation, and even YouTube took down channels as well.

Meta and Twitter have since rolled out online safeguards for Ukrainians to use as digital defence as many fight to protect the Ukrainian internet.

Keep On Reading

By Charlie Sawyer

New study confirms Bacterial Vaginosis can be sexually transmitted, backing what women have long suspected

By Charlie Sawyer

Netflix’s new viral movie, The Life List, is prompting Gen Zers to break up with their boyfriends

By Eliza Frost

Is the princess treatment TikTok trend the bare minimum or a relationship red flag?

By Charlie Sawyer

Penn Badgley praised for opening up about fatherhood and raising sons on Call Her Daddy

By Eliza Frost

Hailey Bieber’s new hands-free lip tint holder has everyone divided 

By Charlie Sawyer

Everything you need to know about toxic gossip site Tattle Life and how its founder finally got revealed

By Eliza Frost

How exactly is the UK government’s Online Safety Act keeping young people safe? 

By Eliza Frost

Bad Bunny announced as halftime act for Super Bowl 2026—and conservatives aren’t too happy 

By Charlie Sawyer

Michael Cera reveals why he turned down a role in the Harry Potter franchise

By Abby Amoakuh

I sat down with two professional matchmakers to solve Gen Z’s dating fatigue

By Eliza Frost

How Jet2holidays and Jess Glynne became the sound of the summer

By Abby Amoakuh

Julia Fox reveals her ex-husband secretly baptised her son and warns women of loser fathers

By Eliza Frost

How fans manifested Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping

By Charlie Sawyer

How rediscovering Nintendogs as an adult has helped my anxiety

By Charlie Sawyer

Former Harry Potter star tells reporters he doesn’t understand JK Rowling’s Twitter transphobia

By Eliza Frost

Skibidi, tradwife, and delulu are among new words added to Cambridge Dictionary for 2025

By Charlie Sawyer

Will Greta Thunberg reach Gaza safely amid Israel’s aid blockade?

By Charlie Sawyer

UK government’s new murder prediction tool draws comparison to Tom Cruise film, Minority Report

By Abby Amoakuh

Tiktoker gets slammed by dermatologists for promoting dangerous caveman skincare regime

By Abby Amoakuh

Euphoria fans freak out as major storyline for season three gets leaked