cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/8574315

Archived version

Ukrainian authorities have dismantled a so-called “bot farm” that police say was supplying thousands of fake social media accounts to Russian intelligence services for use in disinformation campaigns against Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and the National Police said on Monday they detained the suspected organizer of the network in the northern city of Zhytomyr and blocked nearly 20,000 fraudulent online profiles allegedly used in information operations directed by Moscow.

According to law enforcement, the suspect sold more than 3,000 fake Telegram accounts each month to Russian clients. The accounts were created using Ukrainian mobile phone numbers and then marketed on specialized online platforms used by pro-Russian actors.

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The accounts were also used to circulate anonymous messages posing as Ukrainian citizens and falsely claiming that various facilities across the country had been mined. “Through these actions, the enemy sought to provoke panic among the population and destabilize Ukraine’s socio-political environment,” authorities said.

Law enforcement officers detained the suspect at his residence, where he had allegedly set up the bot farm. During searches, investigators seized computer equipment, mobile phones, USB hubs connected to modems, and nearly 2,000 SIM cards from multiple Ukrainian telecom operators.

If convicted, the suspect faces up to six years in prison.

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