Russia's foreign intelligence service is actively investing in building infrastructure to spread Kremlin propaganda in the West and the Global South. Firms are being created that masquerade as advertising agencies, but their main goal is to conduct large-scale information campaigns in the interests of Russia. This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation , UNNand UNN .
Details
Reportedly, such activities are supervised by the head of the presidential administration, Sergey Kiriyenko.
To hide the “Russian trace,” such companies set up shell companies and appoint people with no obvious ties to Russia as their managers.
“One of these companies, the AdNow advertising agency, was discovered by the Financial Times. It was founded by a Russian woman, Yulia Serebryanskaya, who worked on Putin and Medvedev's presidential elections. This Russian influence network was involved in promoting disinformation about Western vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, financial fraud, and its connection with Kelin Georgescu, an anti-Western candidate in the Romanian presidential election, the results of which were canceled,” the report says.
Recall
The European Parliament has begun preparing a resolution on systemic disinformation and historical falsifications by Russia. The document exposes Russia's attempts to interfere in the politics of the EU, the US and other countries through cyberattacks and manipulations.