Fake Euronews Videos Spread Disinformation About Ukrainians During Winter Olympics

False information targeting Ukrainian athletes and refugees has proliferated across social media during the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, according to an investigation by Euronews’ fact-checking team, The Cube.

Multiple fabricated videos impersonating Euronews broadcasts have garnered significant viewership on platforms like X and Telegram, with one false report accumulating over 114,000 views. This particular video falsely claimed that Ukrainian refugees had robbed a Euronews crew at the Olympics.

Another fraudulent report asserted that a Ukrainian interpreter had escaped from the national delegation, becoming the “52nd” person to allegedly do so—a claim with no basis in reality.

The sophistication of these deceptive videos is notable. They incorporate authentic Euronews graphics alongside Olympic stock footage and utilize manipulated voiceovers or background music to create a veneer of legitimacy. However, The Cube confirms that none of these videos originated from Euronews’ newsroom.

Some of the disinformation blends actual Olympic incidents with fabricated allegations. One video referenced Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych’s disqualification—a genuine event that occurred after he planned to wear a helmet featuring images of athletes killed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, the video then falsely claimed Ukrainian fans vandalized cultural sites in Milan in response—an assertion contradicted by local reporting and official statements.

Research collective Antibot4Navalny, which specializes in analyzing bot networks with Russian connections, has linked these videos to a broader influence operation nicknamed “Matryoshka.” Their analysis, shared with The Cube, indicates these fabricated reports bear hallmarks consistent with previously identified Russian disinformation campaigns.

The scope of the operation is substantial, with researchers documenting at least 35 videos impersonating various media outlets, research institutions, and government organizations during the Milan Games. The campaign also includes fabricated magazine covers and manipulated social media posts following similar narratives.

Canadian broadcaster CBC News was among the most high-profile targets, with a doctored version of their reporting amassing over one million views before the network publicly denounced it. The fake CBC video utilized AI to mimic the voice of an actual reporter while falsely claiming Ukrainian athletes were segregated from others in the Olympic Village.

Other prominent media outlets targeted include France’s TF1 Info, E!News, Eurostat, and Germany’s Deutsche Welle—demonstrating the campaign’s international reach.

This represents the second time the Matryoshka operation has targeted Olympic Games, following similar efforts during Paris 2024. Analysts note, however, that the Milan campaign appears somewhat smaller in scale, with approximately 60 posts compared to the 190 documented during the Paris Olympics.

The narrative focus has also shifted. While the Paris disinformation campaign targeted a broad spectrum of individuals including French President Emmanuel Macron and Olympic organizers, the Milan effort appears more narrowly concentrated on undermining Ukraine through attacks on its athletes and refugee communities.

In a particularly insidious strategy, some of the Milan-focused videos referenced alleged incidents from the Paris Olympics that were themselves fabrications—creating layers of disinformation built upon previous falsehoods.

As social media platforms continue to grapple with the spread of sophisticated disinformation, this campaign highlights the ongoing challenges of protecting high-profile international events from becoming vehicles for geopolitical influence operations.