Weaponizing Media Credibility: How Disinformation Operations Exploit Journalism

Disinformation campaigns increasingly exploit the credibility of media outlets to spread false narratives, according to recent findings by the EU DisinfoLab. Their research highlights how malicious actors either corrupt existing news brands or create convincing imitations to gain public trust and shape narratives.

The investigation identified two primary strategies: established media organizations devolving into disinformation channels, and fake outlets posing as legitimate news sources to deceive audiences.

“These activities obstruct access to verifiable information and undermine professional journalists who follow strict deontological principles,” notes the DisinfoLab report. “This pollution damages an essential service that informs citizens in functioning democracies.”

One alarming case involves France Soir, once a respected French newspaper founded by resistance leaders in 1941. After declaring bankruptcy in 2012, it reemerged in 2016 as an online-only platform. Following staff cuts in 2019, the outlet began spreading conspiracy theories, anti-vaccine content, and COVID-19 misinformation, leading YouTube to close its channel in March 2021 for health-related disinformation violations.

The report challenges common assumptions about disinformation sources. A Berkman Klein Centre study analyzing 5,000 media stories, 5 million tweets, and 75,000 Facebook posts concluded that mainstream American media outlets and political figures—not foreign actors or social media platforms—were the primary amplifiers of election disinformation during the 2020 U.S. presidential race.

Fox News played a particularly significant role in spreading false claims about mail-in voting, reinforcing the finding that domestic media sources can cause more harm than foreign interference operations.

In Italy, a network of websites exemplifies how disinformation operations obtain official legitimacy. Gasp.news, a registered online newspaper under Italian law, shares content with Oltre.tv, an unregistered site that NewsGuard identified as a COVID-19 misinformation “super-spreader” reaching approximately 1.5 million users. Both outlets belong to the same digital marketing company, forming part of a seven-website network amplifying conspiracy theories about vaccines and pandemic response measures.

Perhaps most disturbing is the theft of journalists’ identities to lend credibility to false information. Axios documented multiple cases where reporters’ names, photos, and bylines were stolen to promote conspiracy theories and political propaganda. One journalist discovered his identity was used to spread claims that a U.S. Defense Secretary planned to outsource systems to China, while another found their name attached to pro-Iranian regime propaganda.

The second trend involves sophisticated operations creating fake media outlets from scratch. Bonanza Media, presenting itself as an independent Dutch investigative platform, was revealed by Bellingcat to be a Russian intelligence-linked project designed to spread alternative narratives about the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) crash. The outlet even obtained Dutch press credentials shortly after its creation in 2019.

Similarly, the EU DisinfoLab uncovered “FranceLibre24,” a French-language media site secretly managed by a Polish far-right network. The outlet employed “spoofing”—mimicking the name of legitimate news source France24—while manipulating content to include false or divisive messages targeting French audiences on polarizing topics like immigration and religion.

Foreign interference operations have grown increasingly sophisticated. In 2020, the FBI shut down “Peace Data,” a self-described “global news organization” that cybersecurity firm Graphika identified as a Russian Internet Research Agency operation. The outlet used AI-generated profile pictures and fake personas to recruit unsuspecting American freelance journalists to write content designed to sow discord ahead of the U.S. presidential election.

These tactics extend globally. Pakistani PR firm AlphaPro created fake media outlets pushing anti-India content, while Russian-linked networks established front media organizations and purchased ownership stakes in legitimate news stations across Africa to broadcast pro-Russian content.

The increasing sophistication of these operations presents a growing challenge for platforms, governments, and news consumers trying to distinguish between authentic journalism and orchestrated disinformation campaigns designed to manipulate public opinion.