Soldiers shoot at maga dolls Putin tries to stir up Trump's supporters with fake videos

Before the change in the White House, fake videos are circulating on the internet to drive a wedge between Kiev and Washington. They include a doll with a Trump shirt in the sights of Ukrainian soldiers.

DPA

07.12.2024, 09:13

dpa

In his last days in office, US President Joe Biden is still trying his best to back Ukraine before his successor Donald Trump moves into the White House in January. He is making no secret of his criticism of US military aid, which in turn plays into Russia's hands: Moscow is using the countdown to the change of government for a disinformation campaign to tilt the mood in the US.

Since the US presidential election on November 5, the Kremlin has been feeding state media, websites and social media accounts with distorted portrayals of the Ukraine war and relations with the US. The publications, translated into English for the American public, were aimed at turning the mood at a politically crucial time, analysts explain.

The ultimate aim was to reduce US military aid in order to strengthen the Russian aggressors in the war. Examples of this include fake videos allegedly showing Ukrainian soldiers burning portraits of Trump or his supporters.

Soldiers shoot at maga dolls

In one clip, soldiers can allegedly be heard saying that Trump should "never be president again". Investigations by various experts found telltale signs of digital manipulation. In another video, it is suggested that Ukrainian soldiers are shooting at a mannequin wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat and a Trump campaign shirt.

Both private analysts and the Ukrainian State Center for Combating Disinformation tracked down the video online and classified it as a fake. Other, equally fake videos allegedly show Ukrainian soldiers burning Trump's books or calling him a coward.

At the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, which has now lasted almost three years, Moscow's propaganda focused more on denigrating the leadership in Kiev as corrupt and fascist. Added to this was the allegation of secret research into biological weapons, which Russia tried to link to the coronavirus pandemic.

Kiev is corrupt - Moscow is the solution

Russia has conveyed the image that Ukraine is so corrupt that it should not even be a state, explains Rupert Smith from the Brussels-based strategy consultancy Solvo Partners. As a consequence, they have emphasized: "We are the right people to govern this country," says the former NATO commander and British general. The aim now is to undermine support for Ukraine.

The spread of the fake video of the puppet wearing a Trump shirt was initially spurred on by Kremlin-affiliated websites before it reached sites popular with US citizens, an analysis by Newsguard found. Some versions were created well before the election, but claimed to be more recent.

Within a few days, the video had received hundreds of thousands of views and had been translated into several languages. The Russian motives are easy to see through when Moscow is trying to undermine support for Ukraine, says Russia expert Joshua Tucker from New York University.

Impact difficult to assess

However, the effectiveness of the disinformation is more difficult to assess - especially on social media platforms, which are already overflowing with bizarre and false information.

For Moscow, disinformation is probably part of a long-term effort to undermine the global leadership role of the USA by dividing the population and undermining trust in institutions, explains Tucker. This goes beyond one election cycle or one candidate.

"I think what they were really hoping for is a contested result with a lot of people on the street saying the election was illegitimate," he says. That did not happen, but the Russian disinformation agencies did not let up in their attempts to stir up the American people.

When asked about Moscow's role in spreading disinformation about Ukraine, the Russian embassy in Washington merely referred to previous statements - in which any involvement was denied.