By Kontur and AFP | 2024-02-16

PARIS -- From images of fake anti-Ukraine billboards to posts showing false graffiti against Ukraine's leader, pro-Russian disinformation online is targeting Western backing of the country that Russia invaded.

Russia has for years used troll factories and fake news websites to spread disinformation in the West.

After Russian leader Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow ramped up promoting a pro-Kremlin narrative.

More recently, AFP's fact-checkers have debunked false content that is intended to support or encourage the idea of growing public fatigue in Europe and the United States.

These campaigns can often take aim at already combustible topics like migration or political affiliations -- topics that could further heat up as June's European Union (EU) elections approach.

The disinformation efforts "create the idea that European and American money is being sent unnecessarily," said Valentin Chatelet, research associate for the Atlantic Council's Digital Analysis Laboratory.

"There is always a desire to torpedo negotiations... especially with Western players because they are the main financial backers and arms suppliers," Chatelet added.

But EU leaders in early February overcame months of opposition from Hungarian leader Viktor Orban to agree on €50 billion ($54 billion) of aid for Ukraine, in a move they hailed as a strong message to Russia.

Across the Atlantic, a fresh aid package for Ukraine is slowly working its way through the US Congress.

Disinformation tactics

Pro-Russian disinformation is most effective when it builds on existing and divisive issues like immigration and purchasing power, analysts say.

Russia's disinformation aims to "erode European support for Ukraine... maligning and scapegoating Ukrainian refugees," said US-based political researcher Elina Treyger.

Specifically, the campaigns highlight the economic and energy fallout on Europeans of the war sanctions against Russia, Treyger added.

"The most successful narratives are the ones that tap into something that's already an issue; it's much harder to build from scratch," said Treyger.

"By multiplying the content so much, you'll inevitably hit your target," agreed Jakub Kalensky of the European Center of Excellence for Combating Hybrid Threats.

When the war in Ukraine began, for example, the Middle East and Africa were targeted with tailor-made narratives based on anti-American, anti-Western and colonial sentiments, explained associate professor Christine Dugoin-Clement from IAE Paris, a business school.

Another tactic is to divert journalists with information overload.

One campaign, the so-called "Operation Matryoshka," has aimed to keep journalists busy by spreading anti-Ukraine fake news and then challenging Western media to verify it.

Another extensive operation dubbed "Doppelganger", which was attributed to Russia by French intelligence, uses visuals that mimic Western media.

Fighting back

The widespread use of pro-Russian disinformation has raised concerns ahead of the European Parliament's June elections.

"There will be disinformation operations on Ukraine [and] on a whole host of current European issues to promote a conservative or nationalist agenda," said Chatelet.

From last December onward, a vast "pro-Russian disinformation campaign" in Germany created more than 50,000 fake accounts on X (formerly Twitter) to stir up anger about the country's support for Ukraine, according to German daily Der Spiegel.

France also warned that disinformation attacks from countries like Russia were "likely to intensify" before EU elections in June.

"I call for the utmost vigilance," French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said February 13 in a rare direct address to the public.

"In five months' time, our continent will vote in the European elections, and each of our countries will be a target for foreign powers," Sejourne said in a video posted on X.

"Let us not be deceived," he added.

On February 12 Sejourne hosted German counterpart Annalena Baerbock and Radoslaw Sikorski of Poland at the Chateau de La Celle-Saint-Cloud just outside Paris.

The ministers launched a joint initiative to fight Russian disinformation attacks, and are expected to report on Moscow's latest disinformation attacks against the three countries.

"Our three countries have been victims of the same destabilization strategy," Sejourne said in an interview with French regional daily Ouest-France published on February 10.

'Portal Kombat'

Sejourne said a French government agency had discovered a network of Russian websites designed to spread Kremlin propaganda in the West.

Viginum, which includes data science and geopolitical experts, said it had uncovered a "structured and coordinated" network of Russian websites it code-named "Portal Kombat."

The network comprises at least 193 websites that spread false claims that Russia's war in Ukraine is a legitimate military operation, Viginum reported February 12 after analysing "information portals" between September and December last year.

It found several websites targeting Western countries supporting Ukraine, including France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.

"The main objective seems to be to cover the Russo-Ukrainian conflict by presenting positively 'the special military operation' and denigrating Ukraine and its leaders," Viginum said.

The aim of the sites, "most of which are dormant, is to spread fake news and views that serve Russia's interests," Sejourne said.

"They spread false information about Ukraine, divide public opinion and stir up hatred."