Ukraine’s Cyber Police have taken down a bot farm accused of spreading pro-Russia propaganda through social media platforms in an effort to manipulate public opinion surrounding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Furthermore, the bot farm, which operated over 4,000 fake accounts posing as Ukrainian citizens, aimed to criticize the Ukrainian armed forces, legitimize the Russian invasion, and create political tension within the country. The perpetrators received payments in Russian rubles, a prohibited currency in Ukraine, earning approximately $13,500 per month. They used sanctioned payment systems to convert the funds into cryptocurrency and transfer them onto bank cards.
Additionally, law enforcement officials in Ukraine detained three suspects from the Vinnytsia region who allegedly registered around 500 fake accounts daily across various social networks, e-commerce platforms, and messaging apps. If found guilty, they could face a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.
The bot farm was discovered in an abandoned garage, and during the raid, authorities confiscated computers, mobile phones, over 3,300 SIM cards from Ukrainian and European mobile operators, and bank cards used for receiving payments from Russian clients.
This arrest sheds light on the use of automated accounts to spread propaganda and instigate panic during times of conflict. In a previous operation in December, the cyber police seized over 100,000 SIM cards that were used to register bot accounts promoting pro-Russia narratives on different social media platforms.
Typically, perpetrators set up bot farms in their own residences or deserted buildings, utilizing servers and SIM cards to create and manage fake accounts. Unauthorized interference in information and electronic communication networks is considered a criminal offense in Ukraine, carrying potential prison time under the Ukrainian Criminal Code.
