Russia is using a “troll factory” to spread lies about the war in Ukraine

Author:
Anna Kholodnova
Date:

The UK Foreign Office said Russia was using a "troll factory" to spread misinformation about the war in Ukraine on social media.

This was reported by Reuters.

The agency cites an expert study funded by the United Kingdom. It showed how a disinformation campaign was designed to manipulate international public opinion on Russiaʼs invasion of Ukraine, increase support for the war, and recruit new sympathizers.

Among the goals of the "troll factory" were British ministers and other world leaders. Traces of the operation were found on eight social networks, including Telegram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok.

"We cannot allow the Kremlin and its shady troll farms to invade our online spaces with their lies about Putin’s illegal war," Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement.

She also noted that the British government has warned international partners and will continue to work closely with allies and media platforms to neutralize Russiaʼs information operations.

  • Russia is using the "troll factory", better known as the "Internet Research Agency", to spread propaganda on social networks. It strikes "blows" at Western countries and in areas of Russian influence. There has been a lot of talk about Russian trolls since the 2016 US presidential election. Donald Trump was then embroiled in an election scandal, and the US Department of Justice formally accused 13 Agency staff, including its CEO, Putinʼs "cook" Yevgeny Prigogine, of interfering.