Kremlin propaganda is adapting to sanctions and the blocking of Russian information resources abroad, finding other entry points into the media field of foreign states. Specifically, through networks of “junk” sites that pose as local news media.
The Center for Strategic Communications has recorded malicious interference (Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, FIMI) in the information field of the United States and other countries. This involves promoting propaganda narratives and manipulations under the guise of covering the deaths of American citizens in Ukraine.
Development of the Information Case
December 22 — American publication Newsweek reported on the deaths of US volunteers Tai Wingate Jones and Bryan Zaccherel, who served in a volunteer unit of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. The material contains comments from relatives of the fallen soldiers and information about the circumstances of their deaths. The text is written with respect for the volunteers and their families, and the right of US citizens to participate in Ukraine’s defense is not questioned.
December 23 — Russian state publication RT posted manipulative material referencing Newsweek: the deceased US citizens are called “mercenaries” who allegedly are “not covered by the Geneva Conventions.”
Publications on sites targeting US audiences
On the same day, a copy of the RT publication was posted by over 50 resources in the Big News Network / Mainstream Media network, including the “parent” site. Most of them target audiences in the United States.
Network sites that posted RT’s manipulative material
What is this network?
The Big News Network / Mainstream Media network includes hundreds of internet resources that position themselves as national, regional, local, and industry news media, but are not.
The sites operate as news aggregators, posting materials from both quality and toxic resources. Most site names are created using the mask “*news.net”.
Since the beginning of 2025 alone, the Big News Network site has reprinted over 5,800 materials from RT, including manipulative materials about Russian aggression against Ukraine.
The network has been operating since the early 2000s, with the oldest sites registered in the late 1990s.
Research by EU Disinfo Lab provides evidence of the network’s involvement in influence operations and interference in the information field of foreign states.
The network is a platform for disseminating Russian propaganda. Since the beginning of 2025 alone, the Big News Network site has reprinted over 5,700 materials from RT. Among them are manipulative publications aimed at justifying the war started by Russia, discrediting the Ukrainian army and the diplomatic efforts of political leadership. RT and other Russian state media provide information support, and their activities are part of aggression against Ukraine.
What is the danger?
The synchronous spread of identical publications and publications with identical messages aims to create a situation where toxic publications dominate the information space. Monitoring tools identified ~220 publications in English and other languages about the deaths of Tai Wingate Jones and Bryan Zaccherel.
Distribution of publications using terms “mercenaries” and “volunteers”
In ~140 of them (including over 50 publications on Big News Network / Mainstream Media network sites), the servicemen are called “mercenaries,” while in ~80 the correct term “volunteers” is used.
In addition to malicious influence on audiences, numerous manipulative publications can affect AI bot training and search query responses regarding the war and the involvement of foreign citizens in Ukraine’s defense.
The analyzed information interference is aimed at:
Justifying Russian aggression against Ukraine, spreading the narrative of a “failed state,” a component of which is the story of “foreign mercenaries”;
Forming biased negative attitudes toward foreign volunteers in the ranks of Ukraine’s Defense Forces, reducing the number of potential volunteers.
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