U.S. Cyber Command reveals Russian disinformation campaign ‘DoppelGänger’ spreading pro-Russian narratives across European media using cloned fake websites and social media manipulation since May 2022.

On September 3, 2024, U.S. Cyber Command public affairs disclosed a sophisticated Russian disinformation campaign called 'DoppelGänger,' active since at least May 2022. The campaign, operated by the Russian Social Design Agency and Structura National Technologies, disseminates pro-Russian narratives into Europe’s media landscape by cloning legitimate media outlet websites and generating fake content using AI. At least 17 European media providers, including Bild, 20minutes, Ansa, The Guardian, and RBC Ukraine, have been targeted to spread false news and narratives that undermine European and NATO cohesion. The campaign used mimicked websites such as 'nato[.]ws' to fake NATO press releases falsely claiming NATO agreements to boost military budgets and deploy Ukrainian paramilitary troops in France. Another example includes 'RRN[.]media,' formerly registered as 'russianews[.]com,' a pro-Russian outlet promoting fact-checked misinformation favorable to Russia. Disinformation efforts employed social media bots for multi-stage obfuscation and paid promotions to increase reach, targeting audiences in Germany, Italy, France, Latvia, and the UK with narratives denying the Bucha massacre and fomenting fear that sanctions would ruin lives. This campaign highlights the borderless nature of disinformation and the need for collective transparency and vigilance against media manipulation. The EU Disinformation Lab first exposed DoppelGänger, emphasizing an ongoing hybrid warfare effort to distort democratic discourse and undermine Western unity.