let's stop Russian fakes

Russian fake factory attacks US presidential candidate Kamala Harris

This is stated in a new Microsoft report. The company's experts determined that russian web trolls were circulating a fake video purporting to show Harris causing a hit-and-run accident that paralyzed a 13-year-old girl in San Francisco in 2011.The researchers discovered that during this influence operation, a video was created in which the actors were paid to shoot. Microsoft says this video was created by Storm-1516, a group linked to russian special services: https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2024/09/17/russian-election-interference-efforts -focus-on-the-harris-walz-campaign/

In another fake video, the actress pretended to be Harris in order to fabricate false claims about Harris' involvement in the accident. According to Microsoft, each of these videos received millions of views, and one was released via a fake news outlet in San Francisco to make it seem more credible.Another kremlin group, Storm-1679, which spread fake news about the Paris Olympics, is now also spreading false content about Harris. One of the fake videos featured a fake billboard in New York City with false claims about her politics.From the editors: if russia attacks only one of the US presidential candidates in the information space, certain conclusions can be drawn about the relationship of the other candidate with the head of the kremlin.

Polish special services neutralized a group of cyberspies controlled by Moscow, and Norway is preparing for sabotage

The exposed cyber group is connected to the Belarusian and russian special services, Polish Minister of Digitalization Krzysztof Hawkowski said.
The attackers started their cyberespionage campaign with an attack on the website of the Polish Press Agency (PAP), and their key goal was to infiltrate various Polish institutions, government agencies and state-owned companies that are connected to the security sector to steal information.

The minister also noted that more than 400,000 incidents related to cyber attacks were recorded in just six months.
Meanwhile, in Norway, a change in the threat level of sabotage on critical infrastructure facilities by the russian Federation is recorded. According to intelligence data, russia has become more prone to sabotage, in particular at oil and gas facilities, than a year ago. As noted by the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SSR), Vice Admiral Nils Andreas Stensens, quoted by Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/norways-spy-chief-sees-russia-more-likely-attempt-sabotage- 2024-09-10/), this intensification is, among other things, related to the kremlin's attempts to stop Western support for Ukraine: "We are observing planned acts of sabotage throughout Europe, which indicates Russia's clear efforts in this direction."

Kremlin bots attacked Macron and France's agreement with the UAE

russian propaganda is actively spreading the lie that the United Arab Emirates, after the arrest of the owner of the Telegram social network Pavel Durov in Paris, allegedly froze an agreement with France to purchase a batch of fighter jets from it. Al Jazeera's fake story on this topic became the most viral video of the "matryoshka" and "doppelganger" disinformation network. He was picked up by the media of russia, Iran and India.

On the X network, it collected 7.7 million views, and the "Al Jazeera video" published by bots was actively distributed on X and Telegram. The promotion of the video was facilitated by the founder of the Mega file exchange and blogger Kim Dotcom, who published the video after the russian channels, - the analysis of the fact-checking journalist David Puente shows.For some reason, russia is very worried about the fate of a supposedly "independent businessman" who apparently secretly cooperates with the kremlin's special services (a recent meeting with putin's representatives confirms this). And the arrest of Durov was definitely not part of their plans.

Russia has created a network of influence on events in several countries in Meta

According to the August 2024 Meta study, this network originated in russia and focused on fake news websites that spread fake news about politics.In Georgia, the influence network criticized protesters against the "foreign agent law" and supported the ruling Georgian Dream party. In Azerbaijan, she spread negative messages about the West and local events. In Armenia, she supported russia, criticized the prime minister and promoted pro-russian narratives.The network used fake accounts to redirect people to its websites. In particular, she has collaborated with people in Armenia to create videos on TikTok, YouTube and Meta apps.
The network was discovered thanks to the notification of the non-profit organization ISFED from Georgia. 

The investigation also revealed ties to individuals associated with the moscow-based marketing firm IMA Digital.In August of this year, Meta also exposed a fake network spreading russian propaganda to a European audience. Meta has removed 20 Facebook accounts, 14 pages and 9 Instagram accounts for violating its policy against coordinated inauthentic behavior. This network, created in russia, was aimed at English-speaking and French-speaking audiences. Fake news websites such as Euro Top News used fictitious journalistic pseudonyms and fake addresses to appear legitimate. Content on websites and social networks was probably created with the help of artificial intelligence.UPD: Meta has closed access to all its platforms to the russian propaganda media group RT (Russia Today).“After careful consideration, we have expanded our current measures against Russian state media. Russia Today, RT and other related organizations are now banned from our apps worldwide due to foreign interference," the company said in a statement.

Journalists of the Washington Post refuted yet another Russian fake

Since the beginning of the offensive of the Ukrainian army on the Kursk region of russia, the kremlin's special services have launched a powerful disinformation campaign. One of the key topics in it is the killing and torture of the civilian population of the Kursk region by the Ukrainian military. Of course, the purpose of these fakes is to tarnish the reputation of the Ukrainian army and sow doubts in the countries allied to Ukraine regarding further support.

However, representatives of several world media over the last week managed to visit the areas of hostilities on the territory of russia. In particular, a recent report was published by the Washington Post. One of the journalists' conclusions is that there is no evidence that the Ukrainian military is purposefully killing, torturing or abusing local residents. On the contrary, the Ukrainian army is trying to provide humanitarian aid to everyone.Read the full report here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/08/18/ukraine-russia-sudzha-kursk/

Pro-Kremlin media spread fakes about "Democratic plans to kill Trump"

These sites masquerade as American news channels and are linked to John Mark Dugan, an ex-US military man who fled to russia and plays a key role in the kremlin's global disinformation network.According to disinformation researchers, hundreds of fake media outlets have recently appeared, which, thanks to available AI tools, are fueling a surge of false narratives ahead of the US presidential election, writes AFP. 

The articles about the "Democratic attempt on Trump" spread false claims and cited an audio recording of an allegedly private conversation between former President Barack Obama and a Democratic Party strategist.As reported by the NewsGuard organization, the audio recording was created with the help of AI for an article on the little-known website DeepStateLeaks.org. The audio was distributed through a network of 171 fake news sites, including the Atlanta Beacon and the Arizona Observer, which in turn cited DeepStateLeaks as its source.NewsGuard added that the articles appeared to be AI-rewritten versions of the same story.

Russia's ally has stepped up phishing cyberattacks against high-ranking US and Israeli officials

Iranian hacker group APT42 has targeted political campaigns, diplomats, think tanks, non-governmental organizations and academic institutions involved in foreign policy discussions.The Google Threat Intelligence Group report (https://blog.google/threat-analysis-group/iranian-backed-group-steps-up-phishing-campaigns-against-israel-us/)

states that over the past six months, the US and Israel accounted for about 60% of APT42's targets, including Israeli ex-military and Democratic and Republican accounts linked to the US election campaign.“APT42 hosts malware, phishing pages, and malicious redirects. They try to use Google services (for example, Sites, Drive, Gmail and others), Dropbox, OneDrive, etc.,” the intelligence team emphasizes.Google monitors and works to destroy more than 270 criminal cyber groups from more than 50 countries.

Hungary plans to make it easier for Russian agents to enter Europe

The Hungarian government recently unveiled plans for a new fast-track visa system for citizens of eight countries, including russia and Belarus, to enter Hungary. The local "National Card" allows its holders to work in the country for up to two years. The scheme is simpler than obtaining a regular work permit or business visa and allows for family reunification. After three years, holders of national cards receive the right to permanent residence.The head of the leading European People's Party, Manfred Weber, has already said that the scheme raises serious concerns about European security and creates serious loopholes for espionage. 

Importantly, by circumventing the restrictions insisted on by EU law, it makes it easier for cardholders to access the common Schengen area: “The lack of a clear need for such a broad and unregulated entry mechanism for russians and Belarusians… calls into question the implications for Hungary and the wider Schengen zones," notes Weber.A group of MEPs is already pushing for the EU executive to take action against Budapest, including the possible expulsion of Hungary from the Schengen zone. MEPs recalled the existence of several examples of hostile operations by russia, in particular, the attempts to kill the Skripals in Great Britain and the explosion of ammunition warehouses in the Czech Republic. "Orbán's irresponsible decision poses a significant threat to the security of all EU members and its citizens," the letter states.

Western investors in big Russian business

The Molfar OSINT agency conducted an investigation into a large russian business in the field of gas and oil. Specialists analyzed about 30 of the largest russian oil and gas companies ("Rosneft", "Gazprom", "Lukoil" and others). 

Many European and American companies were found among their owners and investors. Perhaps that is why some in the USA and Europe react so painfully to Ukraine's strikes on russian factories that provide the criminal terrorist army and the kremlin's special services. And, obviously, there are influential forces in the democratic world that are directly interested in the existence of putin's dictatorship, because they have a good percentage of it.
Read the full investigation here: https://molfar.com/en/blog/zahidni-investory-u-rosiiskii-nafti

The Kremlin and its allies intend to interfere in the USA elections

The Czech Republic has detected a number of hybrid attacks from Russia

The Russian Orthodox Church is expanding its sphere of influence

Manipulation of the statement of a high official of the European Union

In the Baltic countries and Poland, 8 sabotage attempts by Russia were recorded

TikTok found 41 fake accounts with political disinformation