How I Got Dragged Into a Putin Disinformation Op

I recently authored a book exposing Russian disinformation operations, specifically targeting Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin's efforts to influence American elections. Despite my efforts to shed light on the issue, I now find myself unwittingly embedded in a Russian disinformation operation. Shortly after the book's release, media outlets reported that Russia's disinformation operatives had begun spreading derogatory material against Democrats on social media platforms.

One of the covert Russian disinformation units, dubbed Matryoshka, targeted Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz with false allegations during the 2024 campaign. Matryoshka also started generating and posting fake videos that purported to be CNN news segments, damaging Democratic senatorial candidates. I exposed these deceptive videos and reported the issue to X, which subsequently removed the fraudulent content.

However, Matryoshka continued to use old bot accounts, creating at least nine fake Mother Jones videos, each promoting false allegations about Democratic candidates. One video claimed that the Democratic Party had paid $289 million to CNN's chief for pro-trans coverage, while another falsely suggested that a Democratic senatorial candidate was a "closet."

Despite these unfounded claims, I reported the matter to X, and the company removed the fraudulent content. Still, by the time I had taken action, the fake video had drawn nearly 200,000 views, largely due to bots used by Matryoshka.