Anonymous expert compilation, analysis, and reporting. Russia, sowing provocations around the world. Some things never change. </end editorial.> Evidently not wanting to be eclipsed in the media by D-Day, Russia played some foolish games in the Pacific. Zakharova states that “Normandy Landing Did Not Have a Decisive Impact on the Outcome of World War II”–… Continue reading Ukraine / Russia Ad Hoc Media Update (196)
by milnews.ca “A summary of the situation in the area of the operation of the Joint forces as of 18:00 on May 15, 2019” (UKR MoD, in Ukrainian) “JFO: МAP – 15.05.2019” (UKR NSDC) “Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 14 May 2019” “Kiev… Continue reading MILNEWS.ca #UKR Update as of 151800UTC May 2019
Putin, of course, denies this is an aggressive, provocative action. Putin denies Russia is provoking Ukraine with passports move – media Unian 25 April 2019 Russia does not do these type of actions altruistically, nothing is truly done to benefit Russians, those of Russian heritage, or those speaking Russian and living in Ukraine without a… Continue reading EU says Russia’s move with passports in Donbas another attack on Ukraine’s sovereignty Read more on UNIAN: https://www.unian.info/politics/10530891-eu-says-russia-s-move-with-passports-in-donbas-another-attack-on-ukraine-s-sovereignty.html
Written by Andrew Korybko on 2019-04-17 It’s seemingly inexplicable to many that one of the world’s top oil exporters won’t help its “ally” survive the ever-worsening fuel crisis, but upon closer consideration and after much-needed critical thinking, it becomes clear that Russia intends to politicize this crisis in order to compel Syria into undertaking further concessions related to… Continue reading Why Isn’t Oil-Rich Russia Helping Its Syrian “Ally” Survive The Fuel Crisis?
The big news is that the Russian Duma passed a “Sovereign-Internet Bill” which mandates that Russian internet service providers must route Russian internet traffic through Russian control points – forming RU.net. RU.net will be a de facto Russian owned, supported, and controlled “IntraNet” as opposed to an Internet. Add to this that Russia is now… Continue reading Russia Censorship Of Internet Increases
Actual surveys from 2014, statistical analysis by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology and the Democratic Initiatives Foundation, and reporting by Pravda, Separatism in the Donbas, and picked up by the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KhPG), in Donbas ‘separatism’: Myth, statistics and heavily armed Russian spetsnaz, clearly show Russia lied about a majority of… Continue reading Actual Surveys and Statistics Prove Russia Lied, Illegally Invaded Ukraine
Share Tweet Forward 4 April 2019 *TRENDS OF THE WEEK* Always Blame the West! – And Six Other Disinformation Trends This week, the pro-Kremlin disinformation machine churned out enough material for us to register about 50 cases, which we’ve divided them into seven categories showing how certain narrative templates are used and reused for different… Continue reading EU East StratCom Task Force: “Always Blame the West!” And Six Other Disinformation Trends – Disinformation Review
Though the headline focuses on Mueller’s investigation, I urge you, gentle reader, to take a wider view when contemplating Russian election interference. We know Russia interfered in the US 2016 election. We know Russia used Facebook and other ads, social media, Wikileaks, and hacking. We know Russia actively influenced multiple fringe groups to protest, to… Continue reading US’ Mueller investigation is finished. Russia’s election meddling continues.
Share Tweet Forward 28 March 2019 *TRENDS OF THE WEEK* A (Kremlin) Star Is Born Christmas came early for the Kremlin this year in the form of Vasiliy Prozorov, an alleged defector from Ukraine’s state security service, who is zealously promoting all manner of conspiracy theories about his homeland. In Russia, where he is currently taking… Continue reading EU East StratCom Task Force: A (Kremlin) Star is Born – Disinformation Review
Russia is officially protesting a bill in the Senate which can charge athletes that dope their blood as a fraud. The below article is on RG.ru, the official website of the Russian government. It seems that Russia almost must officially lie. The Russian Foreign Ministry points out that the bill is being examined against the… Continue reading Proposed Rodchenkov Act Drives Russia Apoplectic
Russian propaganda is often laughable, if it wasn’t so serious. Even worse, Russian people and Russian trolls believe it and circulate it widely. </end editorial> 30 January 2019 A new whistleblower has now emerged from inside a Russian state media organisation. This time it is Leonid Krivenkov, a former camera operator on the state TV… Continue reading How to Get a 146% Election Result
January 21, 2019 – 17:33 Russian propagandist media are once again circulating new fakes on the theme of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 which was shot down over Russian separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine in July 2014, killing all passengers and crew on board. This time, Russia’s Deputy Prosecutor General Nikolai Vinnichenko told the pro-Kremlin news service RIA Novosti … Continue reading Fake: No Evidence of Russian Involvement in MH17 Crash
A Russian state daily newspaper, Komsomolskaya Pravda or kp.ru, published a story calling Ukraine’s coverage of the Magnitogorsk tragedy “sheer heresy”. Perhaps the word heresy was used to imply disgust, but the actual meaning of “heresy” is something tragically different. Heresy: belief or opinion contrary to orthodox religious (especially Christian) doctrine. Does this mean the Russian church has officially… Continue reading Russian State Daily Calls Ukraine Coverage of Magnitogorsk “Sheer Heresy”, Confirmation Of State Church Merger
Russia is being pummeled about the head and shoulders… For illegally seizing Crimea For illegally doping in sports For the Kerch Straits For Donbas For South Ossetia For Abkhazia For Belarus For Hungary For Czech Republic For aggressive behavior everywhere For shooting down MH-17 For killing 298 people on MH-17 For killing over 10,000 people… Continue reading Russia Expert Says Retired Marine Paul Whelan Was Arrested ‘As Leverage’ for Maria Butina
Russian government officials and the Russian media have been predicting a Chemical Weapons (CW) attack by Ukraine in the Russian occupied Donbas for several weeks. Russia is predicting a CW attack in Donbas precisely the same way as CW attacks were launched in Syria. Coincidentally, both CW attacks will also be executed by Russia. It’s… Continue reading Ukraine Officially Warns Of Impending Russian CW Attack in Donbas
Russia is doubling down on their statement that Ukraine is going to launch a “provocation” in Donbas. Ukraine is surrounded with Russian tanks along the Russia/Ukraine border. Russian combat aircraft have surged to their highest levels, surrounding Ukraine. The Russian navy has surged into Crimea and the Black Sea. Russian combat commanders have arrived in… Continue reading Russia Repeats Claim That Ukraine Is Preparing A ‘Provocation’
Martial law in Ukraine ends on the 26th, therefore Russia is predicting a military action by Ukraine through the Kerch Straits, directed by President Poroshenko, for the purpose of extending martial law in Ukraine. THAT is a fairly shallow reason, so it fits into typical Russian conspiracy theories. I’m not saying it will or won’t, but… Continue reading Another Unbelievable Russian Propaganda Failure
Anonymous expert compilation, analysis, and reporting. </end editorial> Zakharova’s peculiar comments on invading Ukraine attracting some attention, even though she attempted to later backtrack. The Vozhd makes many pronouncements at the G-20 on Ukraine, admitting Russia is at war with Ukraine, and saying it will not end until Ukraine has a Russia-friendly government, which of… Continue reading Ukraine / Russia Ad Hoc Media Update (49)
In one of the most egregious examples of fabricated propaganda, state-sponsored and state-controlled RIA Novosti published an over-the-top smear piece targeting the UK and Bill Browder. Why do I say it’s propaganda? The article contains no documentation. No proof. No evidence. No citations. No links. Zero. Zip. Nada. No corroboration. No verification. Numerous references to… Continue reading Russia’s RIA Novosti Desperately Publishes Really Bad Propaganda Piece Targeting UK and Browder
Apologies to the New York Times and the EU Disinformation Team for changing the title, but what they are describing is Russian Information Warfare and not Fake News. Fake news is generated by Russian Information Warfare, as is propaganda and a whole slew of techniques used by paid Russian trolls. Much, if not most, of… Continue reading Seven Commandments of Russian Information Warfare – New York Times exposes Kremlin’s methods
Anonymous expert compilation, analysis, and reporting. </end editorial> While the Ecumenical Patriarch attempts to gently persuade the Russians to abandon their intransigent position, the Russians continue with their disinformation campaign, the latest product of which was curtly dismissed by the Kyiv Patriarchate as “fake news spin”. Russian commentator Mikhalkov, attempting to smear Ukrainian clerics, cites a… Continue reading Russia Loses the War of the Churches (32)
The Ukrainian Embassy in Washington put out this alert. Apparently, Russians are waging an information war against Ukraine inside the United States, calling up various US State governors and asking for a telephonic interview for Ambassador Valeriy Chaly with the governor. The call will be recorded and exploited after editing. The request is fake, Ambassador Valeriy Chaly… Continue reading Russian Information War On Ukraine Waged Inside US, Hoax Alert Generated
17 October 2018 “Danish scholars conclude that RT has ‘exceptional influence’ in social media”. This was the title of a recent story published by the Russian state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti. A similar story was run by Sputnik, also in Russian. The sensational headline about the “exceptional influence” looks like a pat on RT’s back; however, it’s a… Continue reading Like the Devil Reads the Bible
Share Tweet Forward 11 October 2018 *TRENDS OF THE WEEK* Bring Back the Fifties and the Colorado Beetle! On 17 July 1983, the legendary Operation INFEKTION was unleashed. A marginal left wing Indian newspaper Patriot published an anonymous letter: “AIDS may invade India: Mystery disease caused by US experiments.” Supported by Soviet press and a pseudoscientific report from East… Continue reading EU East StratCom Task Force: Russia Brings Back the Fifties and the Colorado Beetle! – Disinformation Review
By Joe Middleton and Will Stewart In Moscow for MailOnline 14:50 EDT 08 Oct 2018, updated 06:19 EDT 09 Oct 2018 GRU chief Col-Gen Igor Korobov, 62, reportedly emerged shaken and in sudden ‘ill health’ after his confrontation with the furious Russian president. Korobov’s telling off came as the second Salisbury suspect was named as… Continue reading Head of the GRU is in ‘ill health’ after furious dressing down from Putin about the ‘morons’ behind the novichok attack – as second spy is revealed to be Russian military doctor
The string of embarrassing failures is ruining the image of omnipotence the Russian leader spent years trying to build. By Leonid Bershidsky Leonid Bershidsky is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering European politics and business. He was the founding editor of the Russian business daily Vedomosti and founded the opinion website Slon.ru. October 5, 2018, 2:00 AM EDT The… Continue reading No, Mr. Putin, the Bungled Spying Won’t Blow Over
OCTOBER 4, 2018 Atlantic Council’s Ben Nimmo warns: polarization is America’s Achilles’ heel BY ASHISH KUMAR SEN Western governments on October 4 unleashed a torrent of accusations against Russia saying its intelligence agency was responsible for cyberattacks on inquiries into Olympic doping, a former spy’s poisoning, and the downing of a commercial aircraft in 2014.… Continue reading Atlantic Council: Western Nations Go On the Offensive Against Russian Cyberattacks
It’s interesting that a number of Russian sources for these photographs have already purged the cited files. </end editorial> by Bellingcat Investigation Team After Bellingcat disclosed the identity of one of the two Skripal poisoning suspects as Anatoliy Chepiga, a highly decorated colonel working for Russia’s military intelligence, Russian authorities responded with a string of vehement… Continue reading Bellingcat: Anatoliy Chepiga is a Hero of Russia: The Writing Is On The Wall
In yet another bizarre twist involving Russia, villagers in Berezovka, Russia first confirmed, then only hours later deny, that named Skripal assassin, Colonel Chepiga is a native of their village. During this short period of time, it is implied that Russian authorities convinced the contacted villagers to “un-know” Colonel Chepiga. The article does not allege but the… Continue reading Russians Confirm, Then Deny Skripal Assassin
By Christine Schmidt, for NiemanLab “French success resulted from a combination of structural factors, luck, as well as the effective anticipation and reaction of the Macron campaign staff, the government, and civil society, especially the mainstream media.” If France could stop misinformation, could the U.S.? A newly-translated-to-English report reflects on how the country handled misinformation and politically motivated… Continue reading How France beat back information manipulation (and how other democracies might do the same)
New #DisinfoReview from the EU East StratCom Task Force View this email in your browser Share Tweet Forward 20 September 2018 *TRENDS OF THE WEEK* How to Rob Peter to Pay Paul What do you do when one of your heaviest disinformation attacks backfires? You send out way more disinformation attacks and hope that they… Continue reading EU East StratCom Task Force: How to rob Peter to pay Paul – Disinformation Review
Anonymous expert compilation, analysis, and reporting. </end editorial> Most of the reports are coming out of Russia. First the Russians blamed the French, claiming a French FFG launched SLCMs at Syrian targets near Latakia. The kill was then repeatedly attributed to AAA despite the aircraft being lost over the Med. Most reports claim that ASCMs… Continue reading Syrian IADS Kills Russian VKS Il-20M COOT ELINT Aircraft
I swear, either Tom Rogan, the author of this article, read the editorial I wrote yesterday, here: Salisbury CW Attack / Syria / Iran / Russia Ad Hoc Update (143), or we think alike. My prediction is that this exact scenario will be presented to the world in excruciating detail, after a few days. Expect details beyond… Continue reading The Upcoming Novichok GRU Officers Russian Extravaganza
6 September 2018 | Disinformation Review, Top Story As our favourite parody account Darth Putin frequently reminds us, one of the most repeated disinformation tactics is to accuse your counterpart precisely of what you are doing yourself. The aggressor presents himself as the victim and thus strengthens his core internal audience. External audiences that want to defend the aggressor… Continue reading “Not the murderer, but the murdered is guilty!”
The 2018 US midterm election is hereby in session. More Russian fake news sites are popping up. The quote is fake, it is old (2017 allegations), and let’s take a look at the source. The NY Evening @TheNYevening Bio: Truth, Justice and Wisdom New York, NY nyeveningnews.com Joined November 2016 The first line, “Truth, Justice and… Continue reading New Russian Fake News Site Pops Up: The NY Evening
Weekly Update on Ukraine Issue 65 – 2018 July 9 – 15 Situation in the combat zone Russia-backed militants were active all along the contact line and were firing upon the Ukrainian troops defending Krymske, Novoluhanske, Svitlodarsk, Zaitseve, Mayorsk, Pisky, Taramchuk, Avdiivka, Vodiane, Pishchevyk, Shyrokyne and Talakivka. Militants used 82-mm mortars in Hnutove area. They are trying… Continue reading Anniversary of the MH17, Ukraine at the NATO Summit, Presidential elections-2019 and more – Weekly Update on Ukraine #65, July 9 – 16
Inform Napalm just released this report, translated into English. This is exceptionally fine work on the part of InformNapal. This is also a case of very poor operational security on the part of the Russians. I copy the entire article here only because, when dealing with information embarrassing to Russians, this might disappear at any… Continue reading Inform Napalm: List-1097: How the Russian 18th Brigade occupied Crimea
“Russian troll factory hiring for new anti-U.S. operation; biggest danger is not to America | Trudy Rubin” Really nice story on the surface, “USA Really. Wake Up Americans.” is going to be a new propaganda outlet headquartered in St. Petersburg, Russia. Diving into the story more deeply and contemplating the details, I was just a… Continue reading New Russian Propaganda Outlet In May 2018: “USA Really. Wake Up Americans”
Share Tweet Forward 1 March 2018 *TRENDS OF THE WEEK* Ukraine: the perennial disinformation target Four years have passed since the protests and subsequent violence on Maidan square in Kyiv, and also another anniversary is soon upon us; that of the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia. It is, therefore, no surprise that we see a… Continue reading Disinformation Review – Ukraine: the perennial disinformation target
The new normal in Russia is to lie about absolutely everything. The branding campaign, example below, is both dark humor and ironic in its brashness. “Russia’s strength is in truth”. In a pig’s eye, source. I also encourage you to look up the urban dictionary’s definition of another applicable phrase, “oh bother“. How can you tell when Lavrov is lying?… Continue reading The Truth Behind the Russian Embassy to the Netherlands’ “Russia’s Strength is in Truth” Branding Proposal
MILENA IAKIMOVA DIMITAR VATSOV 18 October 2017 IN English PUBLISHED 18 OCTOBER 2017 Original in Bulgarian Translation by Katerina Popova First published in Critique & Humanism, vol. 47, No. 1/2017 (Bulgarian version); Eurozine (English version) Contributed by Critique & Humanism © Dimitar Vatsov / Milena Iakimova / Critique & Humanism / Eurozine Russian propaganda co-opts western grassroots criticism… Continue reading Co-opting discontent: Russian propaganda in the Bulgarian media
Thank goodness the kneejerk reaction of blocking Bill Browder from entering the US has been lifted. The Interpol Red Notice for him, issued by Russia, is a political sham. </end editorial> Putin critic cleared to travel to US BY MORGAN CHALFANT The Department of Homeland Security says a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin can travel… Continue reading Bill Browder, Putin critic cleared to travel to US
October 20, 2017 By Bellingcat Investigation Team On October 19, 2017, the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), the Dutch-led criminal investigation into the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) over Ukraine, published a new photograph Buk 332, the Russian Buk missile launcher that downed MH17 on July 17, 2014. Buk 332, previously identified by Bellingcat as ‘Buk… Continue reading New MH17 Photograph Geolocated to Donetsk
New #DisinfoReview from the EU East StratCom Task Force View this email in your browser Share Tweet Forward 12 October 2017 *TRENDS OF THE WEEK* Time for the ninth MH17 disinformation round In the pro-Kremlin disinformation news cycle, timing is everything. Every occasion can be used to amplify and strengthen the false message. This week’s… Continue reading Time for the ninth MH17 disinformation round – Disinformation Review – 12 October 2017
An international beef sizzled over the weekend after social media grilled a fake Russian report about a New York restaurant honoring President Vladimir Putin’s 65th birthday with a special hamburger. Russian state media served up a story on October 7, Putin’s birthday, claiming that Lucy’s Cantina Royale in New York City had created a special… Continue reading Putin Burger With Lies, Please
Share Tweet Forward 12 September 2017 *LAUNCH OF NEW WEBSITE* HOMEPAGE The first section is dedicated to the latest news and analysis of pro-Kremlin disinformation. Here, we write about the disinformation campaign in a more problem-focused manner – for example, a particular long-term disinformation campaign targeted at a particular country; new initiatives countering disinformation; political leaders… Continue reading New website – East Stratcom Task Force
The Russian troll farm at St. Peterburg, Russia, has a new name. Glavset. Facebook May Have More Russian Troll Farms To Worry About reminded me that the Internet Research Agency is now known as Glavset. I reported on them previously, in March 2017: Investigation of RBC: how a “media factory” grew out of the “troll factory, but I… Continue reading Glavset Is New Name For Russian Internet Research Agency, The Russian Troll Farm
A senior Russian official in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a link to an article in Russian. Most of the readers of his page are Russians, he posts a breakdown of his readership weekly. Mysteries of the American tragedy of September 11, 2001 (Загадки американской трагедии 11 сентября 2001 года) The article is in… Continue reading Russian Propaganda Targeting Russians
Brian Whitmore, excerpts: Speaking at the BRICS summit in China, Putin said he would support sending UN troops only to the demarcation line separating the territories held by Moscow’s proxies in eastern Ukraine from the rest of the country. Speaking at the BRICS summit in China, Putin said he would support sending UN troops only… Continue reading The Daily Vertical: Putin Plays Peacekeeper Games
Anonymous expert compilation, analysis, and reporting. </end editorial> Zapad 2017 remains a major theme in the media, with well-considered inputs by NATO and Ukrainian senior officers, and Poroshenko weighing in. CACDS director Badrak observes that Russia has been building up forces and supporting assets to conduct a major war, likely against Ukraine and emphasizes Putin’s need… Continue reading Russia / Strategy Media Update – 02 September 2017
To Inform is to Influence 