1/ As the UK experiences its most significant riots since 2011, the Kremlin is happy to exploit the situation to its benefit by:
🔥 adding fuel to the fire of the #UKriots
🔥 inciting similar tensions in France¹⁶
🔥 weakening support for Ukraine¹⁷
🧵 Thread:
2/
Since Aug 7, Matryoshka, a pro-Kremlin network, uses bots to flood X/Twitter with fake visuals (videos, street art, and doctored covers) related to the Southport events.
The goal is to overload fact checkers with illegitimate reports and to boost virality of false narratives.
3/
Matryoshka uses fake visuals to better serve its goal. Compared to genuine news, they:
🎯have a greater disinfo impact if they go viral
🎯keep fact-checkers busy longer
That's why a visual promoted by Matryoshka is, by itself, a strong marker of its intentional false nature.
4/
According to our records, the Southport-triggered riots have become the second-largest event targeted by Matryoshka network, right after the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The following thread exposes the wide range of narratives used by the Kremlin to sow discord and undermine trust.
5/ Fake cover of @DailyMirror / lead paragraph:
"The UK is losing the demographic race to immigrants.
"By 2035, 9 out of 10 people will be practicing Islam"
6/ Fake UK Secret Intelligence Service video:
"Muslim immigrants living in the UK are advised to not let their children go out unaccompanied.
"A child traveling alone becomes an easy target for attacks.
"Far-right activists have been spreading calls to attack muslim children."
7/ Fake @BBCNews video with chief rabbi of the UK:
"The only way to defeat violence committed by Muslim immigrants is to reduce number of mosques in the UK.
"Mosques are springing up replacing Anglican churches; serve as permission for any violence against the Britons."
8/ Fake Aljazeera (@AJEnglish) video with the principal leader of the Church of England:
"More mosques have to be built in the UK: better access to mosques could pre-empt violence in Southport."
9/ Fake "Instagram stories" from DailyMail (@MailOnline), @BBCnews, @TheSun alleging:
@Darren_Cullen's street art with princess Diana:
"Great that I'm dead now and can't see all the shit that's going on in the UK"
10/ Fake @BBCnews video:
"@RishiSunak (former British PM) liked several radical-Islamist posts on Instagram calling for violence against Britons"
11/ Fake UK Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) / @Radisson video:
"Avoid visiting bars due to high terrorism threat.
"Provocations could be committed by both the right-wing extremists and radicalized migrant groups.
"Acting irresponsibly jeopardizes the safety of the entire UK"
12/ Fake @BBCnews video:
"British art declares war on Islam. 5 British artists will depict an online caricature of Prophet Muhammad.
"All funds raised will be used to cover lawyers fees for Britons detained by police during far-right riots."
13/ Fake Mirror (@DailyMirror) video:
"According to a neural network, Britain in 2035 will be full of mosques, Muslim-origin citizens and shops."
14/ Fake @BBCnews video with head of the synagogal body in London:
"Stop sponsoring Muslim immigrants.
"Every pound left as a tip to a Muslim serves as a payment for future chaos.
"Migration allowances for Muslims should be abolished; that money should go to the police"
15/ Fake UK Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) video:
"Avoid visiting restaurants where Muslim migrants work
"Your appearance can provoke an employee who is a Muslim immigrant."
16/ Fake @BFMTV video with a former Interior Minister of France:
"When a migrant killed 3 young children in the UK, the English showed their anger.
"When migrants killed 6 French citizens, the French stayed silent: we only see the Olympics in the news"
17/ Fake cover of The @Independent:
"While we were following Ukraine, we lost our country"
(Kremlin likely implying: the UK authorities should focus on domestic agenda, stop being involved in Russia-Ukraine war)
18/ Fake cover of @Daily_Express with Ukraine ambassador in the UK:
"Ukrainian authorities with their decisive actions would have never let such organized violent banditry happen.
"Ukraine can serve as an example for the whole of Europe on how to nip unrest and neutralize it."
19/
(Kremlin's likely intent in 18/: drive a wedge between the UK and Ukraine; imply that Ukraine should deal with its problems first before advising to the UK)
20/
Most of the credits for this thread should be given to:
👏 my team that meticulously collects every piece of Matryoshka public content posted on X/Twitter;
👏 @SourcesOuvertes who has invested a huge amount of time and effort into editing this thread.
21/21
If you are a fact checker, disinfo researcher or a media celebrity, most likely Matryoshka bots were trying to reach you via mentions, direct messages or email.
Please send us the content they are promoting: that will help us ensure we have not missed something important.
22/21
For background of how Matryoshka operates, refer to:
🇫🇷 our original report in partnership with AFP:
🇬🇧 technical report by @Viginum_Gouv:
🇬🇧 extended report by @CheckFirstHQ and @ResetDotTech: factuel.afp.com/doc.afp.com.34…
sgdsn.gouv.fr/files/files/20…
checkfirst.network/wp-content/upl…
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