Thread by @allthecitizens

100,000 Russian troops have amassed at Ukraine’s border, as NATO allies discuss responding with troop deployments.

Russia issued demands for NATO not to expand the alliance, and to deny Ukraine NATO membership. This was rejected by both NATO and the US.

RU State TV claims NATO / Ukraine as the aggressors, aligning with Kremlin rhetoric.

Dennis Volkov, of Moscow-based pollster Levda, said of the situation “it’s important (for the Kremlin) that it continues to look like the West is inflaming the situation”
reuters.com/world/europe/w…

While, as of yet, no further decision in response has been issued by Putin, State TV is downplaying Russian involvement at the border. Information warfare is how autocrats like Putin influence and undermine democracies.

And it works!

Polling here ⏬ shows that half of Russian respondents blame the US and NATO for tensions, 16% blame Ukraine, while only 3% to 4% blame Russia.
levada.ru/2021/12/14/obo…

As one CNN report highlighted, ‘In Moscow's view, repeated in nearly every newscast and talk show, Ukraine is a failed state entirely controlled by the “puppet master” - the United States.
edition.cnn.com/2022/01/25/eur…

But Russia’s disinformation campaign against Ukraine doesn’t stop there: they’re also spreading claims that Ukraine is carrying out a genocide and its ‘puppet master’ the US is turning a blind eye.
nytimes.com/2022/01/25/us/…

These are just the most recent developments in the ongoing information-warfare landscape of Russia/Ukraine, heavily promoted by outlets like Sputnik, RT, and Ria Novosti.

But Russian information warfare tactics aren't limited in scope to traditional media, or confined to conflicts on its immediate borders, they include staging content, online espionage, discrediting, false flag operations and coordinated online trolling.

Researchers have found evidence that 32 prominent media outlets across 16 countries have been targeted via their reader comments sections by trolls promoting Russian propaganda, including The Daily Mail, Daily Express and The Times.
cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/2547…

During the #Brexit referendum / 2019 election, Putin swapped the frontline for online here in the UK

The belated #RussiaReport into electoral interference found that “troll factories” were used to infiltrate social media in an attempt to influence voters.
nber.org/papers/w24631

Further reports (from 2017) indicate that Russian efforts to influence opinion using disinformation, cyber attacks and other tactics have affected at least 27 countries since 2004.
eu.usatoday.com/story/news/wor…

The German Foreign Ministry recently accused Russia of attempting to influence its then upcoming election through a wave of cyber-attacks, based on ‘reliable information’ that GRU operatives tried to steal login details from lawmakers:
infosecurity-magazine.com/news/germany-r…

There’s also been reports of Russian troll activity in Africa, where Facebook removed a series of pages linked to Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, sanctioned by the US for funding the Internet Research Agency that interfered with the 2016 US election
edition.cnn.com/2019/10/31/eur…

In its attacks on Ukraine, Russian government agencies and online disruption have played as much of a key role as state TV.

A US State Dept report from January highlighted that:
state.gov/fact-vs-fictio…

In the UK, when the report into Russian UK Electoral Interference was finally published, it showed the government had failed to adequately investigate the matter, and “had not seen or sought evidence of successful interference in UK democratic processes”.
theguardian.com/world/2020/jul…

.@allthecitizens have continued to call for a truly independent inquiry into this matter, and at the time compared the content of the expansive US report into Kremlin meddling vs the belated release from the UK government:

https://twitter.com/allthecitizens/status/1299407056995340288?s=20

This is why @allthecitizens are calling for the UK govt to protect our democracy from Russian disinformation and interference.

https://twitter.com/allthecitizens/status/1407668378836295681?s=20

And why we are having to take this fight further than the UK courts...
independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n…

Diplomatic sources told @thetimes that US State Department officials had expressed “dismay and frustration” at the British government’s failure to take tough action against the flow of #Russian funds, particularly in “Londongrad”.
thetimes.co.uk/article/ukrain…

Sanctioning Putin as a way to defuse the risk of war in Ukraine would be largely symbolic, because - quote - "he does not hold his money abroad, it is all in the kleptocrats' names" in London, "right under your government's nose".
@thetimes

The Uk government is looking the other way. WHY?
@anticorruption @JohnPenroseNews

What should #BorisJohnson do if he really cared about #Ukraine and was serious about stopping the #Kremlin?

@OliverBullough has the answer: fight corruption, in London.

https://twitter.com/OliverBullough/status/1486315230925926402?s=20&t=-rViGY9w2m5Kx6Wc6GHB2A