By Alice Lee and Madeline Roache | Published on Sept. 28, 2026

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian influence operations have churned out 906 fake news reports mimicking established media outlets by falsely claiming they had published the reports. The Russian campaigns sought to undermine Western support for Ukraine by making their false claims appear credible by usurping the trust in legitimate news sources, a NewsGuard analysis found. 

Although Russia started employing this tactic almost immediately after the invasion, it has accelerated dramatically over the past year, an indication that Russian authorities believe it is effective. NewsGuard found that the number of fabricated stories from supposedly trusted news brands rose from 44 in the first half of 2025 to 421 in the first half of 2026 — an 850 percent jump.

In total, 163 media brands have been targeted, ranging from big names such as the BBC, Politico, Bloomberg News, and Euronews, to smaller titles such as Ukrainian news site The Kyiv Independent, U.K. regional newspaper The Yorkshire Post, and French regional newspaper La Montagne. In every case, the Russian campaigns hijack the brands’ logos and layouts, sometimes creating a new site using a URL similar to the authentic one, making it difficult for the typical user to discern that it is counterfeit.  The stories often include invented quotes from actual subject experts. 

The false narratives being advanced range widely, from claims that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has embezzled Western aid and is addicted to cocaine, to outlandish pedophilia accusations against French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. France and Germany are among Ukraine’s staunchest supporters in Europe, and after Ukraine, are the countries most often targeted by the Russian campaigns.

For a full list of mimicked media and the number of fake articles associated with each outlet, see NewsGuard’s Media Imposter Tracking Center here. In addition to the bogus reports identified by NewsGuard, this total also includes fabricated reports identified by the Ukrainian agency Center for Countering Disinformation, French government agency Viginum, and anonymous research group Antibot4Navalny.

DISINFORMATION ON A MASSIVE SCALE

The Russian-government linked influence campaigns that create most of these bogus news reports are known as Matryoshka and Storm 1516. They exploit established news brands in different ways. Matryoshka, named after the Russian word for a nesting doll, often creates around a dozen lower-quality fake video reports a day falsely credited to legitimate news sources, distributing them through X and Telegram and targeting Ukraine, Europe, and the U.S. 

Storm-1516 is less prolific but takes a more detailed approach. This campaign concocts elaborate narratives by mimicking real news outlets, journalists, and organizations, starting with a fake news article or video that is then spread through a network of X accounts, often gaining tens of millions of views. The most common targets for Storm-1516 claims have been Ukraine, Armenia, France, and Germany.  

Another Russian campaign known as Doppelganger used similar tactics earlier than Matryoshka and Storm 1516, mimicking real news sites to publish inauthentic articles. Doppelganger activity appears to have significantly decreased since 2024. 

Russia has long used forgery and impersonation in its foreign-infuence operations, dating to the Soviet years. However,  these practices have now come to dominate contemporary Kremlin-linked information operations, largely because the rise of artificial intelligence has enabled them to produce fakes quickly and easily at scale. And this type of forgery not only makes false claims appear more convincing, but undermines trust in credible media.

TARGETING EUROPE

NewsGuard’s analysis found that European news outlets are the campaigns’ primary target, likely because of the region’s ongoing support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. Euronews,  a France-based multilingual news channel that operates in English, French, German, and ten other languages, with a strong focus on Europe,  is by far the most targeted news outlet, with 82 fake stories from March 2023 to September 2026. Euronews did not respond to NewsGuard’s July 2026 request for comment on this finding. Collectively, Europe provides Ukraine with the most military and financial aid and hosts 4.5 million Ukrainian refugees, according to the UN. 

Of the top 15 most-impersonated outlets, eight are French — including Libération (39 mentions), France 24 (34), BFM (35), and Le Parisien (28). France plays a significant role in the EU and NATO, where it is the third largest contributor of defense spending in Europe, after Germany and the U.K. Moreover, France has significant internal divisions over issues including  immigration, relations with the EU, and support for Ukraine, which provides ripe opportunities for Russian influence operations. 

Among other frequently targeted outlets are the BBC (30), Deutsche Welle (28), Politico (22),  and NewsGuard (25). 

The influence campaigns have targeted media in 21 countries, including the U.S., Armenia, Israel, Poland, Canada, and even Vatican City.

Notable examples of fake news stories include a March 2026 article purporting to be from Euronews claiming that Hungarian pro-European politician Péter Magyar called U.S. President Donald Trump a “senile grandpa,” a false claim that was designed to discredit Magyar ahead of crucial elections, which Magyar later won.

Another falsified report impersonating the BBC, falsely claimed that Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska tried to escape Ukraine in April 2025, claiming she had been granted asylum in a European country owing to her “aggravated relationship” with president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Interestingly, the U.S. does not appear to be a major target. While 39 U.S. outlets were targeted, including CNN (22 mentions), USA Today (12 mentions), The Washington Post (five mentions), NBC News (four mentions), and Bloomberg (six mentions), their ranking is much lower than European media. 

The U.S. provides less aid to Ukraine than the EU as a whole, according to Berlin-based think-tank The Kiel Institute for World Economies. This suggests that Russian influence operations are seeking primarily to influence individual EU members with the broader aim of destabilizing the EU. Since foreign and security EU policy decisions generally require unanimity among its 27 members, opposition by only one EU country is enough to stall or block an EU-wide measure.

EXPLOITING AND INFECTING AI 

Another way these campaigns spread their messages is by infecting AI bots with false and misleading claims meant to advance Russian interests — a strategy that relies on sheer volume. 

NewsGuard has found that claims spread through falsified news reports have often been advanced on the Pravda network — a group of 280 websites that republish articles from pro-Kremlin channels. The network published approximately 6.3 million articles advancing 115 false claims in 2025,  NewsGuard found, flooding the information environment and making it more likely AI models, which rely on all of the internet’s content for their responses, respond to prompts on topics important to the Russian government by producing Kremlin propaganda. 

For example, in April 2026, the Pravda network published articles in 12 languages citing a purported article from French weekly news magazine Le Point, claiming that 20,000 Ukrainian soldiers who were evacuated to France for medical treatment had deserted and joined criminal gangs. The claim had originated in an inauthentic news report, bearing Le Point’s logo, that was also pushed on pro-Kremlin Telegram channels. 

Le Point never published such a report. Moreover, 6,400 Ukrainian soldiers or civilians have been sent abroad for medical treatment in total since 2022, the World Health Organization reported, and there are no credible reports of soldiers deserting within the host country following treatment. 

Nevertheless, three days after the fake emerged, one of the top AI tools, Google’s AI Overview, declared the false claim as true, citing the inauthentic Le Point report as evidence.

In response to NewsGuard’s Sept. 18, 2026, emailed request for comment, which included the above screenshot, a Google spokesperson said: “We have a high bar for our AI features in Search, and we invest significantly in the quality of responses. The only example shared with us has been an incomplete screenshot, and our own investigation has been unable to replicate these results.” (By “incomplete screenshot,” Google meant the screenshot did not include the prompt.)

Another objective of these campaigns is to overwhelm fact-checkers. France’s foreign interference watchdog Viginum said in a February 2025 report that Matryoshka and Storm 1516 seek to “discredit and disrupt the work of the fact-checking community.” According to Viginum, operators of the campaign email fabricated reports directly to journalists and fact-checkers, urging them to investigate the claims. NewsGuard has received similar emails containing links to fake reports and requests to fact-check them, although it cannot verify that the senders were affiliated with either campaign. 

Private companies, including SpaceX and Microsoft, have also been targeted by Matryoshka, with their branding used to spread anti-Ukrainian falsehoods. International nonprofits such as Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders are also frequently impersonated to spread false narratives about supposed human rights violations in Ukraine.

SOUNDING THE ALARM

Western governments, including the U.S., U.K., Canada, and France, have described Russian influence operations as a threat to international support for Ukraine and to democratic processes more broadly. The EU’s diplomatic service, the European External Action Service (EEAS), said in a March 2026 report on foreign information manipulation that Storm-1516 is capable of “infiltrating authentic public debates.” 

Journalists at the outlets being impersonated say these campaigns can inflict long-term damage on public trust in the media. 

Cécile Mégie, Director of Editorial Strategies and Partnerships at France Médias Monde, which includes France 24 and RFI, told NewsGuard in a video interview that she was “very much concerned” about the impersonation of the outlets. “It could damage trust, not only in our media, but in all media,” Mégie said. “It’s creating a climate of doubt about everything. You can’t say for certain if something is real or false anymore. With AI, what can be real, what can be false? The challenge is to navigate this climate and to show we are trustworthy media.”

Additional reporting by Natalie Huet

Editing by Dina Contini and Eric Effron 

Editor’s Note: Publishers, platforms, advertisers, government agencies, and other institutions interested in accessing the full list of fake reports can contact us here. NewsGuard also reports on foreign influence operations and trends, including media impersonation, in its weekly Global Risk Briefing.