Analysts who monitor propaganda and disinformation say they've seen a sharp increase in online activity linked to the Russian state in recent weeks.
The Russian TikTok video has it all: a cat, puppies and a pulsing background beat. It's cute, watchable and hardly seems the stuff of state propaganda.In 2014, Russia flooded the internet with fake accounts pushing disinformation about its takeover of Crimea. Eight years later, experts say Russia is mounting a far more sophisticated effort as it invades Ukraine.
In the cat video, a husky puppy identified by a digitally inserted U.S. flag swipes at the tail of a tabby identified by a Russian flag. The cat responds with a ferocious jab that sends the hapless dog scurrying. The clip, which has been viewed 775,000 times in two weeks, is the work of an account named Funrussianprezident that boasts 310,000 followers. Almost all of its videos feature pro-Russian content.
"When you see an 11,000% increase, you know something is going on," said Cyabra CEO Dan Brahmy."No one can know who is doing this behind the scenes. We can only guess."Researchers at the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab analyzed 3,000 articles by 10 state-owned Russian news outlets and noticed a big increase in unfounded claims that Ukraine was poised to strike separatist groups.
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