Pro-Russian influence campaign targets Australian media outlets, including ABC, researchers find

Researchers say 15 Australian media outlets, including the ABC, have been targeted by a sophisticated new pro- Russia n influence campaign, although none were taken in.

The novel and surprising part of the campaign is that its tactics target journalists directly, instead of trying to push fake news onto the general public, as has previously been the case. The campaign's aim is to "propagate these narratives in the heads of Australians", says Mr Kuster, so that people ask: "Should we be with the US and the Europeans in support of the war effort in Ukraine?"

"There is no way for us to assess how exhaustive we are … we think we've just seen the tip of the iceberg," he said. "But with this Operation Overload and some of the research we've put out, this is misinformation on a different level."Each attempt starts with an email or a tweet, purporting to be from a concerned citizen, containing bait in the form of links.In some instances, it's images of fake graffiti on the streets of Paris.

Usually though, there's a clear link back to Ukraine, or an attempt "to emphasise divisions within European societies," Mr Kuster says.

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