Russian Bot Farms Continue Disinformation Despite Ukraine's Drone Strikes on Yandex
Days after Ukrainian military drones targeted Russian data centers, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed a reduction in disinformation and hate speech online. However, evidence suggests that the strikes primarily affected web crawlers rather than bot farms or political operations. The account antibot4navalny reported no decline in bot activity during this period. Analyst Valdemar Osted noted an increase in interactions on MAGA-affiliated accounts and those linked to Germany's AfD party following the drone attacks, contradicting Zelenskyy’s claims of reduced division. Additionally, some charts showing a drop in disinformation appear to be AI-generated, raising concerns that these reports may themselves constitute disinformation. The article highlights how Ukraine’s military actions have not significantly impacted Russian bot operations and suggests that perceptions of success might stem from misinformation rather than actual changes on the ground.
Topics: disinformation drones Russia Ukraine Yandex