Orwellian knockoff: The Insider exposed the Russian origins of a plot to burn down a Slovak arms plant

The Insider has revealed evidence pointing to a Russian origin for the enigmatic "anti-war" group Global Citizens Against War 1984 (GCAW1984). Earlier this month, the group claimed responsibility for plotting an arson attack on a Slovak plant operated by Ukrainian drone maker Skyeton. GCAW1984 positions itself as an international anti-war movement, unaffiliated with any state, and opposing militarization irrespective of the nation involved.

The group has threatened additional acts of sabotage against companies supplying weapons to conflict zones and a future assault on a U.S.-Israeli missile production plant set to launch in Germany.

The first hint that Russian might be the group's native language emerged on their Instagram account, which is managed in English but showcases two saved story collections bearing the Russian name "Актуальное." Upon checking these collections with Instagram's interface in English, the label remained in Russian, indicating the word "Актуальное" had been entered in Russian by whoever managed the account.

Additional traces of Russian origins persist in the website's source code. GCAW1984's site was built using Hostinger AI Builder, and its page code includes the generator "Hostinger AI Builder tag," suggesting the site was created using a ready-made template rather than a fully customized design. The template's name "bulletin" still lingers in the configuration.

An unusual detail in the site's formatting is the use of the proprietary Yandex font "YS Text" within a quote from George Orwell's 1984. This font is absent from the rest of the website, indicating it may have been copied from another source. Notably, the quote from Orwell in the original English reads: "Being in a minority, even a minority of one, did not make you mad."

However, on the GCAW1984 website, a translated version appears: "Just because you're in the minority, even in the singular, doesn't mean you're crazy." The phrase "even in the singular" sounds unnatural when applied to an individual in English, aligning closely with a common Russian translation of the same sentence: "Если ты в меньшинстве — и даже в единственном числе, — это не значит, что ты безумен."

The authors of GCAW1984 quoted an English-language novel on their English-language website, seemingly opting to translate Orwell's Russian version back into English, rather than using the original text. The Insider's previous analysis of the group's manifesto and a letter received from a self-proclaimed member, Robert Lewanowski, also identified numerous constructions characteristic of Russian translation.

A native English speaker who reviewed the manifesto suggested that its author was likely a native speaker of an Eastern European or Slavic language.

The website also lists two members, Polish national Robert Lewanowski and Serbian national Stefan Ilić. However, discrepancies in their biographies raise suspicions. For instance, Lewanowski is claimed to have served in the Polish army for two years, studied at the National Defence Academy, and participated in humanitarian missions in several war-torn countries.

Yet, The Insider could not find independent evidence to corroborate these claims, with the group reportedly attempting to keep their activities private. Similarly, Ilić's biography, which includes a medical training, work in Syria, and anesthesiology at a German hospital, also lacks independent verification. Both individuals are named after footballers, with slight alterations in their last names.