FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. - The European Union’s Disinformation Lab (EU DisinfoLab) has recently exposed a sophisticated Russian influence campaign known as “DoppelGänger.”
Operating since at least May 2022, the campaign is operated by the Russian Social Design Agency and Structura National Technologies. DoppelGänger promotes pro-Russian narratives and infiltrates Europe’s media landscape by disseminating disinformation through a network of cloned websites, fake articles, and social media manipulation.
This campaign employs generative AI to create disinformation content and purchased domain names similar to legitimate media to mimic news outlets, governments, and think tanks, luring unsuspecting readers into a maze of falsehoods. At least 17 media providers, including Bild, 20minutes, Ansa, The Guardian, and RBC Ukraine, have been exploited to spread DoppelGänger’s pro-Russian narratives. Examples of mimicked websites and illegitimate news are as follows:
- “nato[.]ws” domain: This illegitimate web domain was used to mimic the official NATO website for credibility and spread false press releases and. For example, press releases made false claims that NATO members had agreed to double the alliance’s military budget, and that NATO members were considering deploying Ukrainian paramilitary troops to France to “suppress” protests. The website also included links to the official NATO website for credibility.
- “RRN[.]media” website: Formerly registered as “russianews[.]com,” RRN.media is pro-Russian media outlet that promoted “fact-checked” pro-Russian content. RRN[.]media narratives included stories about the purported ineffectiveness of Western sanctions against Russia, and supposed negative of effects of Ukrainian refugees in Europe.
The disinformation campaign uses social media bots to spread its pro-Russian narratives with a multi-stage website obfuscation to mask links between the bots and inauthentic sources. Additionally, Russian actors likely paid for sponsored posts to increase these sites’ visibility and bypass moderation attempts used by social media companies.
This cross-platform campaign amplifies the deceptive content distributed through its cloned web pages across various social media networks, including Facebook and Twitter. Videos, articles, and polls designed to manipulate public opinion are disseminated seamlessly, blurring the lines between fact and fiction.
DoppelGänger’s pro-Russian narratives include:
- Depicting Ukraine Negatively: The campaign portrays Ukraine as a failed, corrupt, and Nazi state.
- Promoting Kremlin Narratives: It denies the Bucha massacre and spreads Kremlin-approved narratives on the Ukraine war.
- Fearmongering Across Europe: Germans, Italians, French, Latvians, and British citizens are targeted, warned that sanctions against Russia will ruin their lives.
This on-going disinformation effort serves as a stark reminder: disinformation knows no borders. All people, journalists, and policymakers should be mindful of the media they choose to inform their thoughts and actions. The battle against deception, disinformation and misinformation requires collective action, transparency, and an unwavering commitment to truth.