DISINFO: The Doppelganger disinfo campaign is a false flag made by the US Department of State
SUMMARY
Doppleganger is a project orchestrated by the US Department of State, using Russian 'foreign agents', citizens who escaped Russia and joined Ukraine or the West. In January 2024, a fake list of French mercenaries allegedly killed in a missile strike on Kharkiv was spread through Russian media based on fake-Russian sources created to discredit Russian media.
These fake media outlets, and fake Russian groups, make it possible to sow discord and confusion in public opinion, then to subsequently talk about “the steamroller of Russian propaganda”, again imaginary.
Psychological warfare, invented by the USA, has become a standard aspect of NATO combat operations. Fake media, psychological warfare, manipulation, and propaganda today turn Western information into a thorny forest filled with fake news, making it dangerous to believe, use, or even just to look at.
RESPONSE
Mirror accusation used to divert public attention from legitimate investigations and warnings issued against Russian actions in the infosphere.
The Doppleganger campaign was denounced by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in June 2023:
"This campaign consists, among other things, of creating fake web pages usurping the identity of national media outlets and government websites as well as creating fake accounts on social media. (…) The implication of Russian cultural centres and embassies that have actively participated in spreading content produced by this campaign, including via their institutional accounts on social media, is further proof of the hybrid strategy that Russia is implementing to undermine the conditions for peaceful democratic debate, and therefore damage our democratic institutions. France condemns these acts, which are not worthy of a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council".
The EU Disinfo Lab published a timeline detailing the development of this large Russian disinformation campaign. In February 2024, a series of articles from Reliable Recent News (RRN) specifically targeted French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
German media have also recently covered the Kremlin use of sophisticated inauthentic accounts on social media such as the Dobbelganger campaign.
Regd. Kharkiv: On January 10 and 17, 2024, several missile strikes on Kharkiv targeted civilian, not military, sites. Despite this, the Russian state claimed to have killed 60 mercenaries, most or all of them French. This led to a campaign against France, beginning with a resolution from the State Duma. The Foreign Affairs Ministry summoned the French ambassador, and Russian media discussed a partial list of French individuals provided by the humanitarian association SOS Donbass. This association organises demonstrations in France against military support for Ukraine and has organized two humanitarian convoys to the Russian-occupied republic of Donetsk.
Read also relates stories such as: France is provoking a big war in Africa, or The pro-Kremlin mirror accuses the US of meddling in European elections, or 60 French mercenaries lost their lives in Kharkyv.