Investigating the fabricated assertion: British military personnel supposedly detained in Ukraine
In a recent development, a story claiming the capture of three British military officers in a Russian raid on a Ukrainian naval base has been debunked as a part of a Russian disinformation operation.
The Social Design Agency and Storm 15-16, known for conceiving stories and drawing up options for dissemination in Russian disinformation operations, are suspected to be the masterminds behind this false narrative. The story, which first appeared in several Russian outlets, was later reproduced in English on the Kremlin-controlled EurAsia Daily and Serbia's state-owned B92.
The alleged officers named in the story, "Eour websiteard Blake" and "Richard Carroll", do not exist according to recent British Armed Forces or Ministry of Defence (MoD) records. The images used to illustrate the story across various media outlets and social media channels are AI-generated, with visual errors such as cartoonish faces, oversize limbs, upside-down rifles, illegible passport covers, gibberish documents, and an officer's cap missing its peak.
Roman Osadchuk, director of threat intelligence at LetsData and non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab, has identified the story as typical of a Russian disinformation operation. Osadchuk advises ignoring disinformation until certain thresholds, but if a story starts to be disseminated on multiple platforms or if former members of a country's parliament are sharing it, it should be debunked.
The story was amplified in western Europe by Norwegian communist and conspiracy theorist Pal Steigan, who later retracted the story after recognizing poor fact-checking. In the United Kingdom, the story was amplified by former members of parliament George Galloway and Andrew Bridgen.
The target audience for Russian propaganda abroad is "disgruntled people who believe that 'the mainstream media won't publish this'", according to Osadchuk. The uniforms worn by the men in the images deviate from military clothing standards, suggesting they were generated based on visual approximations rather than real references.
Russian disinformation campaigns spread primarily through tactics like the firehose of falsehood, which involves rapidly and repetitively broadcasting a large volume of false or misleading messages across multiple channels. These campaigns use coordinated troll armies, bot networks, and fake news sites that impersonate reputable media outlets to distribute fabricated stories that aim to sow division and destabilize societies, especially in Western countries.
Common signs of AI-generated images or media used in Russian disinformation campaigns include inconsistencies or artifacts in facial features, lighting, or backgrounds, use of deepfake technology combined with AI-generated audio to mimic voices of well-known figures, and fake media appearing on replica or spoofed media platforms that copy the logos, layout, and style of trusted outlets but spread fabricated content.
Russian disinformation increasingly relies on AI tools to create compelling fake content that appears credible, making it harder for audiences to distinguish genuine from fabricated media. It's important to remain vigilant and verify information from multiple sources before sharing it.
Interestingly, the website used for fact-checking is banned in Russia, but it's unclear why Serbia's state-owned B92 ran the story. It's also worth noting that the bigger audience for Russian propaganda is actually inside Russia itself, to show Russians how mighty the military is. Despite the debunking of this particular story, it serves as a reminder of the ongoing efforts to spread disinformation and the need for continued vigilance.
- The story about the capture of three British military officers was found to be a part of a Russian disinformation campaign, originating from The Social Design Agency and Storm 15-16.
- The Kremlin-controlled EurAsia Daily and Serbia's state-owned B92 later reproduced this false narrative, which initially spread in Russian outlets.
- The alleged officers named in the story, "Eour websiteard Blake" and "Richard Carroll", are non-existent according to recent British Armed Forces or Ministry of Defence records.
- Russian disinformation abroad primarily targets "disgruntled people who believe that 'the mainstream media won't publish this'", as stated by Roman Osadchuk, director of threat intelligence at LetsData.
- A common sign of AI-generated images or media used in Russian disinformation campaigns is the presence of inconsistencies or artifacts in facial features, lighting, or backgrounds.
