The French government's technical and operational agency for countering digital manipulation Viginum has uncovered a sophisticated propaganda and disinformation network operating out of Moscow and targeting Western Europe.
The network, dubbed “Portal Kombat,” involves at least 193 sites spreading pro-Russian content, aiming to influence public opinion in countries such as France by disseminating misleading narratives and polarizing the digital public debate.
These digital portals, while initially covering information from Russian and Ukrainian localities, swiftly shifted their focus to promoting Russia's narrative and denigrating Ukraine following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The timing of this redirection coincided with the occupation of Ukrainian territories and the involvement of several Western countries, including France, in supporting Ukraine.
Key findings from the investigation conducted between September and December 2023 reveal that the network does not produce original content but instead relies on amplifying material from social network accounts of Russian or pro-Russian actors, Russian press agencies, and official sites of institutions or local actors. The primary objective appears to be shaping perceptions of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict by presenting Russia's actions positively while disparaging Ukraine and its leadership.
One notable channel identified on the French Telegram messaging app has been publishing up to nine articles per hour, indicating a concerted effort to flood digital platforms with pro-Russian content.
The report said that the content disseminated by these portals often contains inaccurate or misleading narratives. To expand its reach, the network employs various techniques, including the careful selection of pro-Russian propaganda sources tailored to specific localities, automation in content distribution, and search engine optimization.
The network comprises three distinct ecosystems, each targeting specific audiences and regions. One ecosystem utilizes websites with names like “pravda” (eng. truth) followed by country code top-level domains (.fr, .de, .pl, .es, .com), which were set up with identical technical characteristics and hosted on servers located in Russia.
Another network focuses on Russian-speaking audiences in Ukraine, with some sites strategically targeting specific locations, such as Kherson and Mariupol.
However, Viginum notes that the network's success in influencing public opinion appears to be limited, with the average traffic on the five portals in November 2023 recorded at 31,000 visits, with the French-targeted portal being the least visited.
While the majority of the propaganda is centered on the Ukraine conflict, the experts found that the French Pravda site also published material on other crises, including the presence of French troops in the Sahel region.