Russian campaign spent $100,000 on anti-Ukraine propaganda, Meta says

Meta says it has disrupted a sophisticated Russian influence operation that operated across its own social platforms.

The influence campaign originated in Russia and involved more than 60 fake websites, according to a new report. Some of the sites impersonated mainstream European news outlets in order to get their credibility back.

The network's social media accounts shared spoofed articles from the news outlets that criticizedUkraine and Ukrainian refugees. The spoof articles were written in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, and Ukrainian.

Image: Meta

According to the report, this is the largest and most complex Russian-origin operation that we have disrupted. The combination of sophistication and brute force was unique. Technical and linguistic investment were required for the spoofed websites. The amplification on social media was dependent on fake accounts.

According to the report, fake accounts built mini-brands across the internet by using the same names across multiple platforms, and pages within the fake account network spent around $105,000 promoting articles and meme through Facebook andInstagram ads. Content from the influence campaign was amplified on the Russian embassies' Facebook pages.

According to Meta, the campaign used original meme to promote pro-Russian and anti-Ukraine narratives. A Change.org petition demanded that the German government stop giving money to Ukrainian refugees.

While some aspects of the campaign were technically sophisticated, the repetitive construction and posting patterns of the fake accounts meant that many were removed by automated systems before an in-depth investigation had even begun.

Meta said that more precise details of the campaign have been given to misinformation researchers.

Meta doesn't attribute the campaign to the Russian government, but the Kremlin uses digital influence operations to project global power. Even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian officials were sounding the alarm over Russian fake news on social media.

As coronaviruses vaccines began to roll out in early 2021, online publications linked to Russian intelligence services were found spreading false or misleading information.