Taylor Swift’s Pro-Russia Doppelganger

Taylor Swift’s Pro-Russia Doppelganger

Does your favorite movie star or pop singer really love the Kremlin? Though the ads in your Facebook feed may lead you to believe such a thing, it’s just not true. In recent months, a major disinformation campaign has run rampant on Meta and X (aka Facebook and Twitter). The campaign uses fake ads that show existing photos of extremely famous celebrities—Beyoncé, Oprah, Justin Bieber, Shakira, Cristiano Ronaldo—which have been doctored to include fake quotes that back Russia and criticize Ukraine. The campaign, which is still in progress, was perpetrated by a pre-Kremlin group known as Doppelganger. Information shared exclusively with WIRED has also linked this disinformation campaign to Russia’s GRU military spy agency.

On this week’s show, we talk with WIRED contributor David Gilbert, who reports on digital disinformation. David says Doppelganger has been acting in plain sight for over a year, buying targeted ads and using networks of bots and fake Facebook pages to get its pro-Russia propaganda in front of millions of people.

Show Notes:

Read David’s story about Doppelganger’s campaign. Read all of David’s recent coverage. Also read our coverage of other online propaganda campaigns.

Recommendations:

David recommends the movie Saltburn. Mike recommends buying Italian blood orange soda instead of sparkling cider for your next holiday part. Lauren recommends supporting a union!

David Gilbert can be found wrangling all kinds of disinformation on social media @daithaigilbert. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Avsnitt(429)

Let’s Talk About Texts

Let’s Talk About Texts

Maybe you aren't a political dissident engaging in top secret conversations over text messages. But if you care about privacy, you should probably be using Signal—or really, another encrypted service—...

21 Aug 202028min

The Foldable Future

The Foldable Future

This week, Microsoft's dual screen Surface Duo became available for sale. Like many other folding devices, the Duo has been marketed as a product for busy workers on the go. But now, months into a pan...

14 Aug 202026min

We Love Cheap Phones

We Love Cheap Phones

Used to be that if you wanted a new phone, you had to choose between something cheap and something good. But a recent slate of smartphones like the new Google Pixel 4A and the Apple iPhone SE offer an...

7 Aug 202032min

Amazon’s Hidden Prime Secrets

Amazon’s Hidden Prime Secrets

If you have an Amazon Prime membership (maybe it’s where you’ve been buying all your toilet paper during the pandemic) then you’re likely aware of the key benefits: free shipping, access to special de...

31 Juli 202030min

Tick Tock, TikTok

Tick Tock, TikTok

All the kids are talking about it. And now, so are government officials and corporate bigwigs. An app typically known for short, clever videos (and lots of dancing), TikTok has recently found itself a...

24 Juli 202029min

Get WIRED: Citizen and the Bizarre World of Live-Streamed Crime

Get WIRED: Citizen and the Bizarre World of Live-Streamed Crime

The idea behind the Citizen app is that its users upload videos of the things that are going on in the neighborhood in real time — anything from as a gas leak to something potentially a lot more viole...

24 Juli 202021min

Introducing: Get WIRED

Introducing: Get WIRED

Get WIRED is a new podcast about how the future is realized. Each week, we burrow down new rabbit holes to investigate the ways technology is changing our lives—from culture to business, science to de...

20 Juli 20201min

I Stream, You Stream

I Stream, You Stream

It’s hard to remember what television on the internet was like before Netflix started streaming original programming on demand. But maybe that fact just underscores the massive influence the platform ...

17 Juli 202041min

Populärt inom Teknik

uppgang-och-fall
bilar-med-sladd
elbilsveckan
market-makers
rss-elektrikerpodden
skogsforum-podcast
rss-technokratin
rss-laddstationen-med-elbilen-i-sverige
rss-veckans-ai
rss-uppgang-och-fall
bli-saker-podden
developers-mer-an-bara-kod
rss-en-ai-till-kaffet
rss-powerboat-sverige-podcast
natets-morka-sida
rss-fabriken-2
har-vi-akt-till-mars-an
hej-bruksbil
rss-milpodden
rss-snacka-om-ai