Russia’s war on Ukraine is not only fought on the battlefield. Through its “digital army”, Moscow floods the information space with falsehoods to undermine Ukraine, divide the West, and destabilize democracies. …
Storm-1516 [a Russian propagandist group which creates and spreads online disinformation to further the interests of the Russian government] has been active since August 2023 and has since launched multiple aggressive operations producing “AI-powered disinformation at industrial scale” aimed at discrediting Ukraine and eroding trust across the West.
The group creates a false narrative, generating deceptively convincing articles and AI-generated videos, relying on its vast network of propagandists and pro-Kremlin voices to push their fake narratives.
Gnida Project reported that this is the first time Storm-1516 has impersonated real living journalists to spread its propaganda. Although Russia has deployed similar tactics, such as stealing the identities of deceased civilians to create fake profiles of “writers” and “experts” to spread its propaganda.
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I’ve learned that I’ve been writing for this fake news outlet since March. It’s quite disturbing when you see my photo, my name, and my first name associated with conspiracy theories. I’m a journalist; I have absolutely nothing to do with this content. – Audrey Parmentier, journalist at French newspaper Le Monde
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Fake news stories spread across Europe using stolen identities across Europe [the article provides examples for Storm 1516-propaganda in Romania, Moldova, France, Germany, Armenia, Norway].
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Who are Storm-1516’s key figures?
- John Mark Dougan: In June 2025, US-based fact-checker NewsGuard named John Mark Dougan—an ex-Florida deputy sheriff who fled to Moscow—its “2024 Disinformer of the Year.” Dougan engineered Storm‑1516, a Kremlin-linked disinformation network behind over 171 fake news sites and 32 false narratives, racking up over 67 million views in 16 languages—reaching audiences worldwide and even influencing US congressional debate.
- Alina Lipp: a German citizen with nearly 180,000 followers on Telegram, “News from Russia and Donbas,” runs one of the most popular Russian propaganda outlets in Germany. She has spread multiple disinformation campaigns outlined above.
- Lucas Leiroz is a key amplifier of Kremlin-linked disinformation from the “Foundation to Battle Injustice” (R-BFI), founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin—leader of the Russian PMC Wagner Group until his 2023 demise—and run by Mira Terada, a former US prisoner narrowly avoiding a drug trafficking conviction.
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French disinfo watchdog VIGINUM considers Storm-1516’s activities “meet the criteria of foreign digital interference, and represent a significant threat to the French and European digital public debate.”
VIGINUM labels Storm-1516 a “significant threat” to European digital debate. France strongly condemns Russia’s destabilizing campaigns, and Storm-1516’s actions make Russia unworthy of a UN Security Council seat.
French authorities urge social media platforms to take responsibility in fighting this foreign interference, affirming that no manipulation will deter France’s support for Ukraine against Russia’s war of aggression.
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They’re Marxist-Leninists. They don’t care about imperialism, democracy, freedom, rights, anything. They subdue their ideology to geopolitics, which they treat as a sport, instead of an area which impacts people. Ask yourselves: If the perpetrator of the Palestinian genocide was Russia or China, would they care? No, they would see it as “state propaganda”. They don’t care about Palestinians in reality. They do care that the right superpower rises to the top.
In a way, they’re inverted NATO fans. Same thinking, opposite team to support.