Kremlin's Doppelgänger is a large-scale 2022-established foreign disinformation campaign spreading fake news across Western countries via fabricated stories, deepfakes, and botnets to discredit NATO, Ukraine, and Western governments.

Cyber & Information WarfareInformation OperationsPropaganda & disinformation campaigns

Aggressor

Summary

The Doppelgänger operation is a Kremlin-established foreign disinformation network created in 2022 under the Presidential Administration led by Sergei Kiriyenko and PR specialist Ilya Gambashidze. The network produces and spreads fake news and propaganda targeting Western countries, primarily Germany, Italy, the UK, France, the US, and Norway, using fabricated stories, deepfakes, online trolls, bots, and staged videos. Their aim is to discredit Western governments, NATO, and Ukraine, influence public opinion, and foment social and political discord, often exploiting sensitive issues such as migration, ethnic tensions, and political scandals. The operation involves hundreds of operatives including MGIMO alumni, Foreign Ministry staff, propaganda strategists, and security council officials. Notable falsehoods include fake stories of Ukrainian officials buying luxury yachts, false claims circulating about Ukraine's First Lady's lavish spending, and disinformation about refugees in Europe. The operation also orchestrates offline activities including provocative graffiti campaigns in Paris and the creation of fake violent threats. The Kremlin's Agency for Social Design (ASD) coordinates these efforts with extensive use of AI and advanced digital fabrication techniques. The operation has prompted sanctions by the EU, US, and other countries on key individuals. Despite sophisticated methods and financial resources, the network has suffered more operational failures than successes.

Classification

Confidence: High

The report presents multiple concrete examples with dates, actors, documented fake stories, and operational details proving active Russian hybrid warfare propaganda operations targeting Western countries.

Source URL

https://theins.press/en/inv/298359

Open source

Provenance

Publisher: hwt_web_submit
Submitted: Oct 22, 2026, 02:49 UTC
Last updated: Nov 8, 2026, 14:15 UTC
Event time: Jan 1, 2022, 00:00 UTC

Published as a hybrid-warfare signal with a public source and reviewer-approved assessment bands. See the methodology for how records are assessed.

Raw record

{
  "id": "38f13ddf-e151-4f68-9b34-6c28f27c3a96",
  "url": "https://theins.press/en/inv/298359",
  "source": "hwt_web_submit",
  "status": "processed",
  "category": "Cyber & Information Warfare",
  "subcategory": "Information Operations",
  "incident_type": "Propaganda & disinformation campaigns",
  "country": "Russian Federation",
  "source_reliability": "F",
  "info_credibility": "6",
  "tags": [
    "Russian disinformation",
    "foreign influence",
    "fake news",
    "deepfakes",
    "propaganda",
    "Western Europe",
    "united states of america",
    "Ukraine",
    "hybrid warfare"
  ],
  "nodes": [],
  "countries": [],
  "where_text": "Cyberspace",
  "headline": null,
  "description": "The Doppelgänger operation is a Kremlin-established foreign disinformation network created in 2022 under the Presidential Administration led by Sergei Kiriyenko and PR specialist Ilya Gambashidze. The network produces and spreads fake news and propaganda targeting Western countries, primarily Germany, Italy, the UK, France, the US, and Norway, using fabricated stories, deepfakes, online trolls, bots, and staged videos. Their aim is to discredit Western governments, NATO, and Ukraine, influence public opinion, and foment social and political discord, often exploiting sensitive issues such as migration, ethnic tensions, and political scandals. The operation involves hundreds of operatives including MGIMO alumni, Foreign Ministry staff, propaganda strategists, and security council officials. Notable falsehoods include fake stories of Ukrainian officials buying luxury yachts, false claims circulating about Ukraine's First Lady's lavish spending, and disinformation about refugees in Europe. The operation also orchestrates offline activities including provocative graffiti campaigns in Paris and the creation of fake violent threats. The Kremlin's Agency for Social Design (ASD) coordinates these efforts with extensive use of AI and advanced digital fabrication techniques. The operation has prompted sanctions by the EU, US, and other countries on key individuals. Despite sophisticated methods and financial resources, the network has suffered more operational failures than successes.",
  "summary_short": "Kremlin's Doppelgänger is a large-scale 2022-established foreign disinformation campaign spreading fake news across Western countries via fabricated stories, deepfakes, and botnets to discredit NATO, Ukraine, and Western governments.",
  "summary_extended": null,
  "actor_primary": "Kremlin's Agency for Social Design (ASD)",
  "target_primary": null,
  "location_text": "Multiple Western countries",
  "location_region": null,
  "location_coordinates_lat": 61.52401,
  "location_coordinates_lon": 105.318756,
  "location_precision": "Approximate",
  "is_aggressor_signal": true,
  "signal_type": "HYBRID_SIGNAL",
  "is_hybrid_war_signal": true,
  "classification_complete": true,
  "hybrid_signal_complete": true,
  "classification_confidence": "High",
  "classification_rationale": "The report presents multiple concrete examples with dates, actors, documented fake stories, and operational details proving active Russian hybrid warfare propaganda operations targeting Western countries.",
  "event_time_utc": "2022-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
  "end_time_utc": null,
  "event_time_confidence": "unknown",
  "created_at": "2026-10-22T02:49:00.040Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-08T14:15:38.488Z",
  "reliability_band": "pattern",
  "location_precision_band": "approximate",
  "time_precision_band": "unknown",
  "severity_band": "moderate",
  "attribution_confidence_band": "high",
  "attribution_basis": "single_source"
}

Public assessmentReliability: Pattern fitSeverity: ModerateAttribution: HighSingle sourceTime: UnknownLocation: Approximate

Source reliability

Info credibility

Event time

Jan 1, 2022, 00:00 UTC

Event time confidence

unknown

Location

Multiple Western countries

Primary actor

Kremlin's Agency for Social Design (ASD)

Country

Russian Federation

Tags

Russian disinformation, foreign influence, fake news, deepfakes, propaganda, Western Europe, united states of america, Ukraine, hybrid warfare

Loading signal...

{ "id": "38f13ddf-e151-4f68-9b34-6c28f27c3a96", "url": "https://theins.press/en/inv/298359", "source": "hwt_web_submit", "status": "processed", "category": "Cyber & Information Warfare", "subcategory": "Information Operations", "incident_type": "Propaganda & disinformation campaigns", "country": "Russian Federation", "source_reliability": "F", "info_credibility": "6", "tags": [ "Russian disinformation", "foreign influence", "fake news", "deepfakes", "propaganda", "Western Europe", "united states of america", "Ukraine", "hybrid warfare" ], "nodes": [], "countries": [], "where_text": "Cyberspace", "headline": null, "description": "The Doppelgänger operation is a Kremlin-established foreign disinformation network created in 2022 under the Presidential Administration led by Sergei Kiriyenko and PR specialist Ilya Gambashidze. The network produces and spreads fake news and propaganda targeting Western countries, primarily Germany, Italy, the UK, France, the US, and Norway, using fabricated stories, deepfakes, online trolls, bots, and staged videos. Their aim is to discredit Western governments, NATO, and Ukraine, influence public opinion, and foment social and political discord, often exploiting sensitive issues such as migration, ethnic tensions, and political scandals. The operation involves hundreds of operatives including MGIMO alumni, Foreign Ministry staff, propaganda strategists, and security council officials. Notable falsehoods include fake stories of Ukrainian officials buying luxury yachts, false claims circulating about Ukraine's First Lady's lavish spending, and disinformation about refugees in Europe. The operation also orchestrates offline activities including provocative graffiti campaigns in Paris and the creation of fake violent threats. The Kremlin's Agency for Social Design (ASD) coordinates these efforts with extensive use of AI and advanced digital fabrication techniques. The operation has prompted sanctions by the EU, US, and other countries on key individuals. Despite sophisticated methods and financial resources, the network has suffered more operational failures than successes.", "summary_short": "Kremlin's Doppelgänger is a large-scale 2022-established foreign disinformation campaign spreading fake news across Western countries via fabricated stories, deepfakes, and botnets to discredit NATO, Ukraine, and Western governments.", "summary_extended": null, "actor_primary": "Kremlin's Agency for Social Design (ASD)", "target_primary": null, "location_text": "Multiple Western countries", "location_region": null, "location_coordinates_lat": 61.52401, "location_coordinates_lon": 105.318756, "location_precision": "Approximate", "is_aggressor_signal": true, "signal_type": "HYBRID_SIGNAL", "is_hybrid_war_signal": true, "classification_complete": true, "hybrid_signal_complete": true, "classification_confidence": "High", "classification_rationale": "The report presents multiple concrete examples with dates, actors, documented fake stories, and operational details proving active Russian hybrid warfare propaganda operations targeting Western countries.", "event_time_utc": "2022-01-01T00:00:00.000Z", "end_time_utc": null, "event_time_confidence": "unknown", "created_at": "2026-10-22T02:49:00.040Z", "updated_at": "2026-11-08T14:15:38.488Z", "reliability_band": "pattern", "location_precision_band": "approximate", "time_precision_band": "unknown", "severity_band": "moderate", "attribution_confidence_band": "high", "attribution_basis": "single_source" }