Kevin Beaumont
I dunno if anybody has done a write up of it but there’s a pretty big Russian disinformation operation that runs on the Fediverse
If you search on Mastodon for t.me/RussianBaZa you’ll find some of it. I’ve been playing a whackamole with them on my server to keep them off.
Kevin Beaumont
They have a ton of unique email domains they use for sign ups and proxy IPs for registration, then register a custom app in Mastodon to automate posting a few weeks after sign up.
Kevin Beaumont
Here’s an example of the kind of posts, they tend to piggy back off hashtags. It’s definitely automated posting and at volume. In this case xfaadf is the app they registered, but it appears to be random.
Sean Bala
@GossiTheDog I just looked at some. Some of it is INSANE. First time I have seen actually honest-to-God antisemitic content on here that is at the level of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Could the source they are posting from be banned on an instance wide basis?
liferstate
@seanbala I regret to inform you that Protocols-style antisemitism is actually pretty common on here. Russian bots not required.
Hello
@GossiTheDog
Hey Kev, let me give you an honorary micro- manager empire fascist badge.
Seems like what qualifies as Russian disinfo, for you, is anyone who has the audacity to report anything from the perspective of a country that the US empire is currently trying to undermine/overthrow. Is that why you limited my account when I was here?
Kevin Beaumont
@multipolarworld thanks for the badge! However, it’s a very large bot farm with hundreds of accounts serving Russian propaganda, where the accounts are bridged through to BlueSky.
I have no idea who you are, and so why your other account was apparently limited prior.
Kevin Beaumont
@placebo yeah it’s really poorly done
Aleksei🎄
@GossiTheDog the texts are written in a style of a typical Russian tg channel, dominated by emojis like ❗ and ⚡ - they aren't even trying to fit in here. Lazy.
Kevin Beaumont
@seanbala no such feature exists
Kevin Beaumont
One more for people looking this - they disable their social graph (i.e. people can't see who they follow), then they follow @bsky.brid.gy@bsky.brid.gy to bridge their posts to BlueSky.
I think BlueSky is the actual target as it's a much bigger audience, they piggy back on hashtags.
As an example, here's an account from my server I caught and suspended - it doesn't suspend on BlueSky due to the bridge or remove the content there.
Hello
@GossiTheDog
really? Because I have it straight from Putin's mouth that he really doesnt give damn what the peons think here in America, the SMO will continue until all Russia's goals are met. And in case the peons here in America dont know what Russia's goals are they've set up a hotline
1-800-RU-Goals
Press 1 for a recap of Russia's goals
Press 2 keep pressing 1 until you get it
The hotline isnt booby trapped; we're talking sensible Russians here, not outright psychopaths like the Israelis.
Kevin Beaumont
Hello
@GossiTheDog funny, but the real hysterical hypocrisy is you dont have a problem with # Ukraine being filled with ukraine trolls spewing non-stop pro-ukraine war propaganda, (ie, lies) paid for with your tax dollars. Enjoy your badge, you've earned it.
Kevin Beaumont
@mustard yeah ditto
Mr. Mustard
@GossiTheDog Hi. I've been running a Mastodon instance in Korea, and these kind of accounts have been coming to my instance several times. Usernames are random, email domains are random, they're using VPN too.
However, I think they didn't know that Mastodon has a feature of checking email domains. So I've managed to block the exact MX record of their email domain, then it stopped. For awhile.
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