The Russian disinformation network Matrioska is carrying out a new campaign targeting the Republic of Moldova and its president, Maia Sandu. The Russian publication The Insider reports that bots are posting false tweets and BlueSky graffiti on social media, depicting alleged “executions” and promising the “end” of the president on June 1st. Several execution methods have been presented, but from the numerous publications, it was not clear what was supposed to happen on that day.
At the end of May, the website of the “Foundation for Fighting Against Repressions”, founded by the Wagner Group, created by Evgeny Prigozhin, published a pseudo-investigation, according to which Maia Sandu allegedly owns a business for selling Ukrainian children in the West.
Requested by IPN, the researcher from the Atlantic Council’s DFRLab, Victoria Olari, mentioned that this campaign “follows a known pattern of Russian influence operations, in which networks of websites and anonymous channels distribute fabricated content in order to destabilize pro-European leaders in the region.”
Requested by IPN, the researcher from the Atlantic Council’s DFRLab, Victoria Olari, mentioned that this campaign “follows a known pattern of Russian influence operations, in which networks of websites and anonymous channels distribute fabricated content in order to destabilize pro-European leaders in the region.
This is not the first disinformation campaign by the Russian network Matryoska. In April, according to The Insider, the bots accused President Maia Sandu of corruption and repression.
“The repeated attacks against Maia Sandu suggest that Moldova continues to be a prime target for Kremlin’s malign influence and the president is seen as an obstacle in the way of reconfiguring Moldova as a Russian sphere of influence. The increasingly sophisticated attacks demonstrate an escalation in efforts to destabilize with a direct stake in the upcoming parliamentary elections this fall,” warns researcher from the Atlantic Council’s DFRLab, Victoria Olari.
