00:00How was Euronews impersonated in a Winter Olympics disinformation campaign?
00:08These look just like Euronews reports about the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina,
00:13but they are fakes. At least five videos got thousands of views on X and Telegram
00:18by impersonating Euronews over the course of the Games. The clips use Euronews graphics
00:24and branding but feature altered voiceovers and music that do not belong to Euronews.
00:30One video makes the bold and false claim that a Ukrainian refugee robbed a Euronews crew at Milano Cortina.
00:36Another alleges a Ukrainian interpreter fled the Ukrainian delegation, becoming the 52nd to do so.
00:43Other fake reports mix genuine Olympic events with fabricated allegations,
00:48including claims that Ukrainians committed vandalism or booked up all of the accommodation in Milan.
00:53There is no evidence to support these claims. Researchers from the collective Antibot for Navalny
00:58say the videos are part of a large-scale Russian disinformation campaign. Their analysis shows
01:03at least 35 fake videos impersonating media brands and research organizations such as E-News and Eurostat.
01:10At least one false video impersonating the Canadian network CBC News reached one million views.
01:16This campaign is often dubbed Matryoshka and has been linked by researchers to the Kremlin.
01:21The operation relies on impersonating official news organizations and research bodies to give
01:26weight false claims. There are recurring narratives and false stories spread by the network,
01:30which include presenting Ukrainians as aggressive and criminal while also taking aim at the country's
01:35president Volodymyr Zelensky. But it's not the first time the network has targeted Euronews or the
01:40Olympics. Researchers uncovered a similar campaign around the Paris 2024 Olympics that spread false
01:45claims about Olympic organizers and French president Emmanuel Macron. Compared to this, the Milan effort is
01:51smaller in scale and focused only on Ukrainian athletes and refugees.
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