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(431)

Trump v. Twitter

Trump v. Twitter

A political firestorm erupted this week when Twitter flagged two of President Trump’s tweets about mail-in voting, calling them potentially misleading, and amending them with some timid attempts at fa...

29 Maj 202035min

Remote Desktop

Remote Desktop

Silicon Valley loves its disruption. If any industry was prepared to handle the monumental changes brought on by the coronavirus, it’s big tech. Companies like Twitter and Facebook were some of the fi...

22 Maj 202034min

The Dark Secrets of a Hacking Hero

The Dark Secrets of a Hacking Hero

In May of 2017, Marcus Hutchins saved the internet. A vicious ransomware attack known as WannaCry had infected computer systems across dozens of countries. It was the worst cyberattack in history at t...

15 Maj 202030min

On the Road Again

On the Road Again

While every economic sector in America has been upended by the coronavirus, few have been hit as hard as the transit and food service industries. It's not so easy to hop on a bus or train when there's...

8 Maj 202029min

The Argument for Making End-of-Life Decisions Early

The Argument for Making End-of-Life Decisions Early

Back in March, counter-culture icon and founder of the Whole Earth Catalog Stewart Brand made a statement on Twitter that surprised some people: He had decided, and had communicated to his wife and th...

1 Maj 202028min

Open For Business

Open For Business

Depending on where you live, the stores, parks, playgrounds, and offices in your area could be shut down for the rest of this summer. Or, they could all be open again right now. State governments have...

24 Apr 202034min

Will Contact Tracing Work?

Will Contact Tracing Work?

Even amid a global pandemic, the world of tech keeps on turning. Some companies have responded directly to the outbreak, offering up smartphone-based contact tracing and wearable solutions to help slo...

17 Apr 202027min

The Race to Make a Vaccine

The Race to Make a Vaccine

Researchers around the world are toiling to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus. But the creation of a working vaccine that can be safely distributed to a broad population requires a tremendous amou...

10 Apr 202031min

Populärt inom Teknik

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