Russia’s Covert Influence Operations Surpass State Media in Spreading Ukraine War Misinformation

Russia’s Covert Disinformation Campaign Outpaces State Media in Ukraine War

A sophisticated Russian disinformation network dubbed Storm-1516 has now surpassed Moscow’s official state media outlets as the primary vehicle spreading false claims about Ukraine, according to a comprehensive analysis by NewsGuard that examined 400 debunked narratives about the war.

The shift represents a significant evolution in Russia’s information warfare strategy, moving away from official channels like RT and Sputnik—which face sanctions and broadcasting bans across Europe and the United States—toward more covert operations that can evade regulatory scrutiny.

NewsGuard’s findings, published on December 22, 2025, reveal that Storm-1516 produced 24 false claims about Ukraine in 2025 alone, compared to just 15 from RT and Sputnik combined. The impact of these fabrications has been substantial, with the campaign’s five false narratives from November 2025 appearing in nearly 12,000 articles and social media posts, generating 43 million views.

“What we’re seeing is a tactical pivot by the Kremlin,” said a cybersecurity expert familiar with Russian influence operations who requested anonymity. “As traditional propaganda channels become less effective due to Western countermeasures, they’re investing heavily in operations that appear independent from the Russian government.”

The Storm-1516 operation has rapidly evolved its techniques. Initially launching with YouTube videos featuring real people posing as whistleblowers in late 2023, the campaign now deploys sophisticated AI-generated personas and deepfake videos. The operation maintains a network of hundreds of AI-enabled fake news sites with names deliberately mimicking legitimate outlets—such as BostonTimes.org, SanFranChron.com, and LondonCrier.com—complete with AI-generated logos.

One of Storm-1516’s signature tactics involves fabricating corruption allegations against Ukrainian officials. When Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau announced a legitimate $100 million embezzlement investigation in November 2025, Storm-1516 quickly created a video mimicking the bureau’s official style, falsely claiming investigators had found $14 million in cash and foreign passports for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a search of his former chief of staff’s office. This single fabrication reached 4 million views.

The operation has also escalated to directly impersonating credible media organizations. NewsGuard identified nine outlets whose branding the campaign has stolen, including The Sun, the Kyiv Independent, Bellingcat, Al Arabiya, and France Télévisions. In one particularly effective deception, the operation created a website called PageSix.now—resembling the New York Post’s gossip section—to plant a false story claiming Zelenskyy had purchased Bill Cosby’s former $29 million townhouse. This fabrication alone generated nearly 20 million views across social media.

Storm-1516’s fabrications gain further traction through what NewsGuard calls the “Pravda network”—a system of 280 identified websites that republish Russian propaganda in dozens of languages, ensuring false narratives spread far beyond their original sources.

Behind this sophisticated operation stands an American fugitive: John Mark Dougan, a former U.S. Marine and Florida deputy sheriff who fled to Russia in 2016 following an FBI raid. The Washington Post reported in October 2024 that Russia’s military intelligence service, the GRU, funded Dougan and directed his activities through Valery Korovin of the Center for Geopolitical Expertise. According to these reports, the GRU allegedly paid Dougan to create and manage an AI server in Russia specifically for disinformation purposes.

In December 2025, the European Union sanctioned Dougan—making him the first American sanctioned for allegedly running influence operations aimed at manipulating public discourse in Western countries. Eleven other individuals received similar sanctions.

Dougan has consistently denied government ties. When confronted by NewsGuard about his alleged involvement with 139 French-language websites spreading false claims about President Macron, he responded via Signal messaging: “I’ve never heard of those sites. Still, I have no doubt about the accuracy and quality of the news they report.”

The impact of these disinformation campaigns extends beyond social media. NewsGuard found that Storm-1516’s fabrications have contaminated major AI systems. A March 2025 audit revealed that four leading AI chatbots repeated as fact the false claim that Ukrainian fighters burned an effigy of Donald Trump—a narrative based on a staged Storm-1516 video.

Despite the shift toward covert operations, Russia continues to invest heavily in its state media apparatus. Moscow plans to spend $1.77 billion on state media in 2026, with $388 million reserved for RT—a record high, according to the Moscow Times.

The evolution of Russia’s disinformation strategy highlights the ongoing challenges Western democracies face in countering foreign information operations. As traditional propaganda channels become less effective due to regulatory actions, more sophisticated and harder-to-attribute campaigns have filled the void, creating a more complex landscape for fact-checkers and intelligence agencies alike.