Russia-linked bot networks kept their weekly rhythm after drone strikes on three Yandex data centers—disinformation monitor LetsData
One network that spread fake Die Welt sites now pushes a fake Ukrinform site about mobilization in Ukraine, its analysts found.
On 8-11 October, Ukrainian drone maker Fire Point carried out strikes on Yandex data centers in Sasovo and Vladimir. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later claimed that after the strikes, social media had fewer bots. LetsData, a Ukrainian disinformation-monitoring company, did not observe any reduction in bot networks they tracked, even after the strikes.
Their analysts examined networks linked to Russia’s influence ecosystem on platforms like X and Facebook, but found no change in the usual activity. Some networks exhibited slightly reduced posting rates, which is typical for their weekly cycle. LetsData monitored two samples of these bot networks—one targeting Ukraine, Moldova, and Armenia; the other a more fluid network that targeted various countries.
Despite the strikes, there was no visible impact on these networks. Let's remember that LetsData only compares data within the networks they know, so the absence of observed changes doesn't necessarily mean the strikes had no effect at all.
Written by urgent.news from Euromaidan Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
