Vladimir Putin is commandeering an army of bloggers, TV propagandists and Telegram influencers, all working to sell his war in Ukraine.
As Russian tanks roll through Moscow’s Red Square for the annual Victory Day parade, tens of thousands of social media pages are churning lies – all behind the scenes – to glorify Russia’s ongoing invasion.
A new report released today reveals how this campaign is part of a tightly controlled ecosystem involving senior Kremlin officials and pro-war media personalities.
Operating within a three-tiered structure, at the very top are are the Russian president’s trusted advisers.
First deputy chief of staff, Sergei Kiriyenko, Alexei Gromov – referred to as the Kremlin’s ‘media puppet-master’ – and Sofia Zakharova, spokesperson for the foreign ministry, shape the messaging.
Below them sit officials from the Russian ministry of defence and ministry of foreign affairs, overseeing how these narratives are then deployed.
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But the bulk of the work is done by the so-called ‘third pillar’.
It is made up of a growing network of media personalities and influencers, including Z-bloggers on Telegram and military correspondents, known as ‘voyenkory’ in Russian.
The degree of their affiliation with the Kremlin varies as some are directly employed by state-controlled media, but others blog online.
Published by international human rights group Global Rights Compliance, the report cites ANO Dialog as a key player.
The government-linked group that manages more than 100,000 fake social media accounts and a wide network of Telegram channels was sanctioned by both the UK and US governments.
For almost two years, it has been masquerading as a professional outlet in order to spread Russian disinformation.
One of its employees, Timofey Vasilyev, also created pseudo fact-checking site ‘War on Fakes,’ which regularly pushes Kremlin narratives disguised as facts.
Bloggers and channels profit from the invasion, call for more attacks and even openly support war crimes.
‘These persons profit from the war, celebrate it, downplay the severity of Russian losses and even openly cheer for war crimes,’ the report read.
‘If they have one consistent criticism, it is that Russia is not waging as much war in Ukraine as they would like.’
Some of these bloggers – like Katrusya, who runs the Telegram channel Signal – even attend strategy meetings hosted by ANO Dialog.
Representatives of major pro-Kremlin Telegram channels like Readovka and Mash are also known to be among them, the report said.
Their coordinated efforts were especially visible after the Kakhovka Dam explosion in 2023, in which at least 58 people were killed.
Telegram channels linked to the Kremlin immediately blamed Ukraine in a deliberate effort to mislead the world.
Readovka, Pul №3 and FRONTовые Zаметки were among those pushing for the false narrative.
For example, the Telegram channel of the propagandist and Kremlin pool journalist Dmitry Smirnov, Pul №3 reported that the explosion was done to ’cause a surge of enthusiasm in Western countries, so that they would hate Russia again’.
Ukrainian-born Yuliya Vityazeva, a famous propagandist, claimed on her Telegram channel: ‘Of course, Ukraine “did not blow up” the Kakhovka HPP.
‘Just as it “did not burn” people alive in Odessa. [As it] “did not shoot” Mariupol residents.
‘[As it] “did not bomb” Luhansk. [As it ] ‘did not shell’ Donetsk with artillery [As it ] “did not execute’ prisoners. [As it ]”did not […]”
‘The list of Ukrainian crimes is long. So much so that one more doesn’t
surprise any of us much anymore.
‘Just like how, with eagerness and without hesitation, they instantly blamed us once again.’
Nadiia Vaskivska, legal advisor at Global Rights Compliance said such non-state actors have a ‘strong influence’ on how the invasion is perceived, in Russia and internationally.
She told Metro: ‘This report shows how different non-state actors, including NGOs, Z-bloggers and voyenkors, are taking part in the dissemination of information alibis and playing a pivotal role in this process.’
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