Doppelganger (disinformation campaign)

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Doppelganger is the name given for a Russian disinformation campaign established in 2022. It targets Ukraine, Germany, France and the United States, [1] with the aim of undermining support for Ukraine in Russia's invasion of the country. [2]

Contents

Goals

The aim is to serve the Kremlin's narrative, primarily to weaken Western support for Ukraine. The narrative favours four themes (messages):

The second goal for the propaganda articles is to be quoted and picked up by Russian media in order to reach the Russian population through the alternative reality that Russian power is trying to maintain about the war in Ukraine. [4]

History

Doppelganger has been active since May 2022. [1] [5] The campaign was unmasked by EU DisinfoLab that September. [6] [5] In May 2024, the company OpenAI removed accounts used by Doppelganger in influence operations. [7]

Disinformation

Doppelganger relies on fake websites that mimic the appearance of existing news sources, such as Der Spiegel , Le Parisien , Fox News and The Washington Post . [2] [8] [9] In the U.S., Doppelganger has pushed articles criticising the LGBTQ+ movement, which has been outlawed in Russia, and raising doubts about the competence of the military. [1]

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Doppelganger's fake websites push false stories that are critical of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.S. president Joe Biden and the White House's Ukraine policy. [2]

In June 2023, French authorities announced they had uncovered a Doppelganger campaign to target several French daily newspapers such as Le Figaro , Le Parisien, Le Monde and 20 minutes, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The campaign created copycat websites of the newspapers, using them to promote pro-Russian content, including a fake Le Monde article titled "French Minister supports the murder of Russian soldiers in Ukraine". A fake Ministry of Foreign Affairs website was also created, including a fake announcement for a 1.5% tax on "every monetary transaction" to finance military support for Ukraine. [10] [11]

Despite its discovery and denunciation, Operation Doppelganger continued. In August 2023, Meta's security report stated that Doppelganger was targeting a new country: the United States. In the summer of 2023, Russian services copied the websites of Fox News, The Washington Post and the NATO website. [12]

In November 2023, researchers identified a disinformation campaign linked to Doppelganger on Facebook. The campaign pushed ads with pictures of celebrities such as Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Justin Bieber and others alongside fake pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian quotes. [5]

Israel–Hamas war

Doppelganger has pushed false information about the Israel–Hamas war using fake websites that mimic the appearance of Fox News, Le Parisien and Der Spiegel. [8] [9] The websites' articles promote the suggestion that financial support for Ukraine from Western powers has been diverted to Israel and that Ukraine will lose all military and financial support from the West. [9] The fake articles appeared in Russian, Ukrainian, English, French, German and Hebrew, and were relayed by bots on Twitter. One forged German report attempted to link the energy crisis in Europe to the war, and a deepfake AI-generated video showed an IDF soldier inviting Ukrainians to join the Israeli army in exchange for payment and citizenship. [8] [13]

In November 2023, France accused Doppelganger and Recent Reliable News (RRN) of interfering in its internal affairs by sharing photos of Star of David graffiti painted on buildings across Paris. [14] [15] At the end of October 2023, stenciled blue Stars of David were discovered on street walls in Paris and its suburbs. The act, immediately described as antisemitic, was widely denounced as reminiscent of the Stars of David painted by the Nazis on Jewish-owned businesses. After a few days and the arrest of a Moldovan couple suspected of tagging the stars at the request of Anatoliï Prizenko, a pro-Russian Moldovan businessman, Le Monde reported that Prizenko was potentially behind the graffiti incident. [16] [14] [17] A Russian influence operation was suspected. On November 9, 2023, France issued an official statement condemning the involvement of the Doppelganger network. Numerous accounts, attributed "with a high degree of trust" to the Doppelganger network, were the first to publish online photographs of the stenciled Stars of David, and were instrumental in artificially amplifying their spread on social networks. [17] France's foreign ministry said it demonstrated how Russia was taking advantage of "international crises" to create confusion and fuel tensions. [14]

Related Research Articles

Disinformation is misleading content deliberately spread to deceive people, or to secure economic or political gain and which may cause public harm. Disinformation is an orchestrated adversarial activity in which actors employ strategic deceptions and media manipulation tactics to advance political, military, or commercial goals. Disinformation is implemented through attacks that "weaponize multiple rhetorical strategies and forms of knowing—including not only falsehoods but also truths, half-truths, and value judgements—to exploit and amplify culture wars and other identity-driven controversies."

Pallywood, a portmanteau of "Palestine" and "Hollywood", is a disinformation campaign used to falsely accuse Palestinians for supposedly faking suffering and civilian deaths during their conflict with Israel. The term came into currency following the killing of Muhammad al-Durrah in 2000 during the Second Intifada, involving a challenge to the veracity of photographic evidence. Israeli pundits have used the term to dismiss videos showing Israeli violence or denial of Palestinian suffering. During the Israel–Hamas war, it has been used to dismiss Palestinian suffering such as claiming dead Palestinian babies as fake dolls, and is regarded by some news sources as a conspiracy theory. The term and related disinformation has been used and circulated as a propaganda tool by official Israeli government profiles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RT (TV network)</span> Russian state-controlled international television network

RT, formerly Russia Today, is a Russian state-controlled international news television network funded by the Russian government. It operates pay television and free-to-air channels directed to audiences outside of Russia, as well as providing Internet content in Russian, English, Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Portuguese and Serbian.

Asian News International (ANI) is an Indian news agency that offers syndicated multimedia news feeds to news bureaus in India. The company was established by Prem Prakash in 1971 and, under the name TVNF, it soon became the first agency in India to syndicate video news. Drawing upon connections within the Indian government, ANI expanded greatly during the early 2000s. After a period of downturn, the company regained its monopolistic position; as of 2019, it is India's largest television news agency, and as of 2024, the largest newswire service.

State-sponsored Internet propaganda is Internet manipulation and propaganda that is sponsored by a state. States have used the Internet, particularly social media to influence elections, sow distrust in institutions, spread rumors, spread disinformation, typically using bots to create and spread contact. Propaganda is used internally to control populations, and externally to influence other societies.

Sputnik is a Russian state-owned news agency and radio broadcast service. It was established by the Russian government-owned news agency Rossiya Segodnya on 10 November 2014. With headquarters in Moscow, Sputnik maintains regional editorial offices in Washington, D.C., Cairo, Beijing, Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Montevideo and Rio de Janeiro. Sputnik describes itself as being focused on global politics and economics and aims for an international audience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State propaganda in the Russian Federation</span> Propaganda promoting views, perceptions or agendas of the Russian federations government

The propaganda of the Russian Federation promotes views, perceptions or agendas of the government. The media include state-run outlets and online technologies, and may involve using "Soviet-style 'active measures' as an element of modern Russian 'political warfare'". Notably, contemporary Russian propaganda promotes the cult of personality of Vladimir Putin and positive views of Soviet history. Russia has established a number of organizations, such as the Presidential Commission of the Russian Federation to Counter Attempts to Falsify History to the Detriment of Russia's Interests, the Russian web brigades, and others that engage in political propaganda to promote the views of the Russian government.

The East StratCom Task Force is a part of the European External Action Service, focused on "effective communication" and promotion of European Union activities in Eastern Europe and beyond. The task force's flagship project is EUvsDisinfo, a database of articles and media which the organization considers as providing false, distorted or partial information.

Fake news websites are websites on the Internet that deliberately publish fake news—hoaxes, propaganda, and disinformation purporting to be real news—often using social media to drive web traffic and amplify their effect. Unlike news satire, these websites deliberately seek to be perceived as legitimate and taken at face value, often for financial or political gain. Fake news websites monetize their content by exploiting the vulnerabilities of programmatic ad trading, which is a type of online advertising in which ads are traded through machine-to-machine auction in a real-time bidding system.

China Global Television Network (CGTN) is one of three branches of state-run China Media Group and the international division of China Central Television (CCTV). Headquartered in Beijing, CGTN broadcasts news in multiple languages. CGTN is under the control of the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fake news</span> False or misleading information presented as real

Fake news or information disorder is false or misleading information claiming the aesthetics and legitimacy of news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person or entity, or making money through advertising revenue. Although false news has always been spread throughout history, the term fake news was first used in the 1890s when sensational reports in newspapers were common. Nevertheless, the term does not have a fixed definition and has been applied broadly to any type of false information presented as news. It has also been used by high-profile people to apply to any news unfavorable to them. Further, disinformation involves spreading false information with harmful intent and is sometimes generated and propagated by hostile foreign actors, particularly during elections. In some definitions, fake news includes satirical articles misinterpreted as genuine, and articles that employ sensationalist or clickbait headlines that are not supported in the text. Because of this diversity of types of false news, researchers are beginning to favour information disorder as a more neutral and informative term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eva Bartlett</span> Canadian activist and blogger

Eva Karene Bartlett is an American Canadian activist, journalist, commentator, and blogger who has propagated conspiracy theories in connection to the Syrian civil war, most notably the disproven allegation that the White Helmets stage rescues and "recycle" children in its videos.

<i>The Grayzone</i> US-based fringe news website and blog

The Grayzone is an American news website and blog characterized as fringe and far-left by numerous sources. It was founded and edited by American journalist Max Blumenthal. The website was initially founded as The Grayzone Project and was affiliated with AlterNet until early 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disinformation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine</span>

As part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian state and state-controlled media have spread disinformation in their information war against Ukraine. Ukrainian media and politicians have also been accused of using propaganda and deception, although such efforts have been described as more limited than the Russian disinformation campaign.

Russian disinformation campaigns have occurred in many countries. For example, disinformation campaigns led by Yevgeny Prigozhin have been reported in several African countries. Russia, however, denies that it uses disinformation to influence public opinion.

<i>NewsFront</i> (website) Crimean disinformation website

NewsFront is a website based in Russian occupied Crimea, described by the United States Department of the Treasury as "a Crimea-based disinformation and propaganda outlet...particularly focused on supporting Russia-backed forces in Ukraine." According to owner Konstantin Knyrik, however, NewsFront is fighting an "information war" against unfair attacks on Russia. NewsFront describes itself as "a news agency that runs news in ten languages including Russian, German, English, Bulgarian, Georgian, French, and Spanish."

<i>SouthFront</i> Russian military disinformation website

SouthFront is a multilingual website registered in Russia and based in Crimea. It has been accused of being an outlet for disinformation and propaganda under the control of the Russian government. For this reason, it has been sanctioned by the US Treasury and banned by social media platforms.

Misinformation involving the distribution of false, inaccurate or otherwise misleading information has been a prominent and ubiquitous feature of the Israel–Hamas war. Much of the content has been viral in nature, with tens of millions of posts in circulation on social media. A variety of sources, including government officials, media outlets, and social media influencers across different countries, have contributed to the spread of these inaccuracies.

Storm-1516 is a Russian propagandist group which creates and spreads online disinformation to further the interests of the Russian government. They have posted negative stories about American aid to Ukraine during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as the Democratic Party candidates in the 2024 United States presidential election, presidential nominee Kamala Harris and vice presidential nominee Tim Walz.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Antoniuk, Daryna (5 December 2023). "Russia-linked 'Doppelgänger' social media operation rolls on, report says". The Record . Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Martin, Alexander (29 August 2023). "Russians impersonate Washington Post and Fox News with anti-Ukraine stories". The Record . Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  3. ↑ "RRN: A complex and persistent information manipulation campaign" (PDF). VIGINUM. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 March 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  4. ↑ "Désinformation russe : qu'est-ce que l'« opération Doppelgänger » ?". La Croix (in French). 14 June 2023. ISSN   0242-6056. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 Gilbert, David (6 December 2023). "Fake Taylor Swift Quotes Are Being Used to Spread Anti-Ukraine Propaganda". Wired . ISSN   1059-1028. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  6. ↑ Alaphilippe, Alexandre; Machado, Gary; Miguel, Raquel; Poldi, Francesco (27 September 2022). "Doppelganger - Media clones serving Russian propaganda". EU DisinfoLab. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  7. ↑ Bond, Shannon (30 May 2024). "In a first, OpenAI removes influence operations tied to Russia, China and Israel". NPR . Archived from the original on 30 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 Benjakob, Omer (20 November 2023). "Russian Op Pushes Gaza Disinfo With Spoofed Fox News Site and 'Deep-fake' Israeli Soldiers". Haaretz . Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 Khatsenkova, Sophia (23 November 2023). "How a Russian online campaign is exploiting the Israel-Hamas war". Euronews . Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  10. ↑ Reynaud, Florian; Leloup, Damien (13 June 2023). "'Doppelgänger': The Russian disinformation campaign denounced by France". Le Monde. Archived from the original on 11 November 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  11. ↑ Khatsenkova, Sophia (15 June 2023). "France says it exposed a massive Russian disinformation campaign". Euronews. Archived from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  12. ↑ "Raising Online Defenses Through Transparency and Collaboration". Meta. 29 August 2023. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  13. ↑ Murphy, Michael (10 December 2023). "Kremlin's 'doppelganger' propaganda so convincing it is hard to tell from real news". The Daily Telegraph . ISSN   0307-1235. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  14. 1 2 3 Caulcutt, Clea (9 November 2023). "France condemns Russian disinformation campaign linked to Stars of David graffiti". Politico . Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  15. ↑ "France slams Russian networks for 'exploiting' crises with posts of Star of David graffiti in Paris". France 24 . 9 November 2023. Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  16. ↑ Albertini, Antoine; Leloup, Damien; Reynaud, Florian (7 November 2023). "Stars of David graffiti in Paris: Russian interference suspected". Le Monde. Archived from the original on 8 November 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  17. 1 2 Schofield, Hugh (8 November 2023). "Star of David graffiti in Paris - the Russian connection". BBC News . Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
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