French experts spot Moscow-based disinformation network

A network in Western Europe is “laying the groundwork for a new wave of online manipulation” in a crucial election year, according to a statement from the French agency

French military and cybersecurity experts have identified a Moscow-based network spreading propaganda and disinformation in Western Europe.

France’s Viginum agency, established in 2021 to detect digital interference from foreign entities aimed at influencing public opinion, asserts that Russia is preparing for a new wave of online manipulation leading up to the European elections and other critical votes this year.

The agency reports that the online network, dubbed “Portal Kombat,” comprises at least 193 sites disseminating pro-Russian propaganda supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine and criticizing the Kyiv government. It added that much of the disinformation is being directed through social media platforms and messaging apps, targeting individuals who promote conspiracy theories.

Researchers from Viginum, who identified and analyzed the network between September and December last year, attribute the mass disinformation campaign to Moscow. One pro-Russian channel on the French Telegram messaging app is publishing “almost continuously,” releasing up to nine articles per hour.

The European Commission, NATO, and UN agencies have all identified disinformation as one of the major threats to democracy in 2024. At a recent high-level conference in Brussels, a senior NATO official stated that disinformation is now considered a “national security issue.” There is a growing recognition among allies that hybrid attacks utilizing disinformation “could escalate to the level of an armed attack.”

Melissa Fleming, the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, stated at the conference that disinformation is being utilized not only to obscure the reality of war but also to sow more suspicion and hatred, thus undermining peacekeeping efforts.

During his address, Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, remarked that this new form of warfare does not involve physical bombs but rather words and ideas that can influence one’s thoughts.

Věra Jourová, the EU’s Vice-President for Values and Transparency, who oversees the media and disinformation portfolios, emphasized the Kremlin’s ongoing efforts to spread propaganda and interfere in democracies. She noted that from Putin’s blatant lies to recently uncovered propaganda networks, the Kremlin is consistently active, and thus the EU should be equally vigilant.

She expressed appreciation for the “strong determination” shown by France, Germany, and Poland to combat the disinformation.

According to French defense experts, the sites associated with the disinformation network do not generate original content but are designed to inundate the internet with material sourced from Russian and pro-Russian individuals on social media, Russian press agencies, and other official accounts aligned with Moscow.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine two years ago, these sites have focused on Russian communities in Ukraine and “several western countries,” including France, Germany, Austria, Poland, Spain, the UK, and the US.

The Viginum report, published on Monday, notes, “While this network of at least 193 sites initially covered news from Russian and Ukrainian localities, it changed its focus the day after Russia invaded Ukraine, shifting to target occupied Ukrainian territories, followed by several western countries supporting Ukraine and its population.”

The primary goal appears to be to portray the Russo-Ukrainian conflict in a positive light by endorsing “the special military operation” and disparaging Ukraine and its leaders. This content is highly ideological, frequently presenting inaccurate or misleading narratives.

The report noted that the network also actively contributes to polarizing the French-speaking digital public debate. To achieve a broad audience, it selects “pro-Russian propaganda sources based on the targeted locality, utilizes extensive automation in content distribution, and optimizes for search engines.”

Viginum states that the propaganda campaign involves three “ecosystems,” one of which utilizes website names beginning with “pravda” followed by country code top-level domains (such as fr, de, pl, es, com). These sites were established in June 2023 and were found to share “identical technical characteristics: a common IP address hosted on a server located in Russia.”

“Furthermore, these sites disseminate content with similar pro-Kremlin narratives, particularly regarding the purported legitimacy of ‘the special military operation,’ disparagement of Ukraine and its leaders, or criticism of ‘the collective West,'” the report states.

Another network of websites targeted primarily at Russian-speaking audiences in Ukraine was established between 3 April 2022—just over a month after the Russian invasion—and 17 December 2022. “Some sites target very specific and strategic locations, such as Kherson or Mariupol,” the report states.

While most of the propaganda is focused on the conflict in Ukraine, Viginum notes that last summer, the French Pravda site published material on “different crises” involving the presence of French troops in the Sahel, including those in Niger and Gabon.

Despite this, security experts suggest that the mass propaganda and disinformation campaign seem to be achieving limited success: the average traffic on the five portals in November 2023 was 31,000 visits, with the one targeting France being the least visited.