Skip to content
Edit post

Bloomberg: TikTok identifies vast Russian disinformation network

by The Kyiv Independent news desk February 10, 2023 6:18 AM 1 min read
This audio is created with AI assistance

Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight.

Become a member Support us just once

TikTok Inc. revealed a Russian disinformation network disseminating propaganda about Moscow’s full-scale war against Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 9.

The network targeted over 100,000 European users over the summer of 2022.

Around 1,700 accounts masquerading as local users but based in Russia propagated anti-Ukrainian narratives to people in Germany, Italy, and the U.K.

According to Bloomberg, the accounts garnered 133,564 followers between July and September 2022.

It is currently unclear as to whether the network has links to the Kremlin.

The discovery was revealed as part of a report under the European Union’s Code of Practice on Disinformation.

“We don’t allow activities that may undermine the integrity of our platform or the authenticity of our users,” a TikTok spokesperson said, as reported by Bloomberg. “The fact that these networks and related accounts were quickly identified and removed is a testament to the considerable resources we have invested in protecting our community from being misled.”

EU Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell announced the creation of a new Information Sharing and Analysis Center within the EU’s foreign services to fight disinformation campaigns on Feb. 7.

The creation of the center follows the release of the first European External Action Service report on foreign information manipulation and interference threats.

The report offers evidence of Russian disinformation campaigns, in addition to an analysis of new disinformation techniques and insights into cooperation between Russia and China.

Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight.
Freedom can be costly. Both Ukraine and its journalists are paying a high price for their independence. Support independent journalism in its darkest hour. Support us for as little as $1, and it only takes a minute.
visa masterCard americanExpress

News Feed

11:16 AM

Kuleba begins first trip to India.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he was in the Indian capital New Delhi at the invitation of Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and that the two would "pay specific attention to the peace formula" in their talks.
Ukraine Daily
News from Ukraine in your inbox
Ukraine news
Please, enter correct email address
5:30 AM

Ukrainian POWs faced conditional release from Hungary.

Two Ukrainian prisoners of war, part of a group of 11 handed over to Hungary by Russia in June 2023, said in an interview to Deutsche Welle, that Hungarian representatives imposed conditions preventing their return to Ukraine until the war's end.
3:16 AM

Estonian police arrest citizen who reported for Russian state media.

Estonian police have arrested Svetlana Burceva, an Estonian citizen, for allegedly violating international sanctions having served as a reporter for Russian state sponsored Balt News - an arm of the Kremlin-run Russia Today (RT) news outlet, Estonian publication Eesti Ekspress reported on March 27.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.