Pro-Kremlin propaganda and disinformation - Aug 22, 2022

August 19 to August 22, 2022

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The key themes were chemical weapons and nuclear risk, the assassination of Darya Dugina, hypocrisy of the West, and boosting conspiracy theories related to Dutch farmers. The domestic Russian outlets say the FSB has “solved” Dugina’s murder, former President Medvedev promises to find her killer, Russia claims the IC is investigating the killing of Russians, and that Bulgaria is going to buy gas. Hoaxlines is watching the information space for any indication of a coming offensive, given the significance of Ukraine’s independence celebration.

Most mentioned user among monitored accounts
Most mentioned countries
Output by Russian state-affiliated outlet
Pro-Kremlin Tweets
Many popular tweets made false comparisons, deflected
Redfish, an RT subsidiary, boosting content to portray US as hypocritical
Renegade, another RT subsidiary, boosted Dutch farmer conspiracy theories
Russian state affiliate boosts far-right US candidate’s tweet
There’s a conspiracy theory in the car bomb someplace: Darya Dugina
Diplomatic and state-controlled media promoted the chemical-weapons claims again
Tweets about Ukraine

Most mentioned user among monitored accounts

Most mentioned countries

Output by Russian state-affiliated outlet

Pro-Kremlin Tweets

Many popular tweets made false comparisons, deflected

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Distract, dismiss, false equivalency, misrepresentation, and omission of details

One of the most popular tweets regarding retweets and likes references UK involvement via NATO in an airstrike to end years-long genocide.

Russian state-affiliated accounts tweeted and retweeted a post attempting to compare Russia’s actions to those of NATO to stop a genocide.

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Russian Embassy, the UK on Twitter: "After conducting illegal wars in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya and Syria, #UK does not have moral right to question #Russia’s membership in #G20. https://t.co/kqQCSfvSOi" / Twitter

Redfish, an RT subsidiary, boosting content to portray US as hypocritical

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Deflection via what-about-ism to distract from Russia’s actions

Redfish is a subsidiary of RT. The account, similar to other Russian state-affiliated accounts, highlights action taken by the US, a NATO country, in an attempt to deflect from its actions in Ukraine. Popular examples are included below.

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redfish on Twitter: "On this day 23 years ago, Bill Clinton ordered a cruise missile attack on the largest pharmaceutical factory in Sudan. Al-Shifa factory produced 90% of Sudan’s pharmaceuticals. Its bombing led to tens of thousands of people dying from malaria and other treatable diseases. 🧵 https://t.co/nBYA7RUPZv" / Twitter

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redfish on Twitter: "On this day in 1959 Hawai’i became the 50th US state, following a referendum organized by the US govt. to prevent it from claiming independence. The ballot only contained 2 options: for it to remain a US territory or to be absorbed by the US. Liberation was never an option. https://t.co/uf4GeKxxId" / Twitter

Ukraine received the same treatment as the US, with a long-time Kremlin propagandist using Amnesty International’s report to claim Ukraine is breaking international law

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Helena Villar on Twitter: "RT @PLnewstoday: #Breaking: Ukraine is 100% breaking international law and the Geneva Convention by making it a crime punishable by 15 year…" / Twitter

Renegade, another RT subsidiary, boosted Dutch farmer conspiracy theories

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Encouraging conspiracy-thinking and social discord

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Renegade Inc. on Twitter: "RT @RadioGenova: Wow! "We hope to keep feeding you!" Respect for Dutch farmers. https://t.co/7BGgmTteSP" / Twitter

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Renegade Inc. on Twitter: "RT @HustusMichael: The fact that the #WEF has successfully convinced countless Industrialized Nations to destroy the Farming Industry over…" / Twitter

Russian state affiliate boosts far-right US candidate’s tweet

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Amplifying the fringe, encouraging extremism

A Russian state-affiliated account amplified the far-right candidate Kari Lake. According to AP:

“Kari Lake, a former news anchor who walked away from her journalism career and was embraced by Donald Trump and his staunch supporters, won the Republican primary for Arizona governor” on August 5, 2022.

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Lee Stranahan 🇷🇺 on Twitter: "RT @KariLake: 24 hours later. No word from @katiehobbs https://t.co/bX3jJKQI87" / Twitter

There’s a conspiracy theory in the car bomb someplace: Darya Dugina

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Distortion to leverage existing narratives, fabricated evidence, and demonization

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Helena Villar on Twitter: "RT @RWApodcast: FSB claims they've solved the assassination of Darya Dugina, here's what they're saying: https://t.co/iM6LPPQ1Ut" / Twitter

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Alexander Alimov on Twitter: "RT @Partisangirl: Woke to the awful news that Darya Dugina has been assassinated via car bomb."

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M_simonyan muses about it being “time to take out the trash”

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George Galloway on Twitter: "If #Palestinians had blown up the daughter of an #Israeli journalist or #Irish dissidents the daughter of a #British politician there would’ve been justifiable outrage in the “West”. Retaliation would now be underway. In the case of the young daughter of #Dugin Zilch.

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Garland Nixon on Twitter: "BREAKING NEWS: Kremlin insiders leak that they are considering banning Germans from entering Russia because "quite frankly, they only shower once a week and we can't stand the smell." / Twitter

Diplomatic and state-controlled media promoted the chemical-weapons claims again

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Demonization, possibly designed to erode support for Ukraine

Examples of tweets attempting to portray Ukraine as using chemical weapons or as risking nuclear accident—no evidence supports either claim.

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RT en Español on Twitter: "Moscú: Ucrania usó agentes de guerra química contra militares rusos El Ministerio de Defensa de Rusia denunció este sábado que Ucrania utilizó agentes de guerra química contra miembros de las Fuerzas Armadas rusas en la región de Zaporozhie https://t.co/8ZkTHYwMao" / Twitter