A network of Russian-based websites masquerading as local American newspapers are pumping out fake stories as part of an artificial intelligence-based operation increasingly targeting the US election, a BBC investigation can reveal. A former Florida police officer who moved to Moscow is one of the key figures behind the network.
It would have been a bombshell: if it had been true. Olena Zelenska, the first lady of Ukraine, is said to have bought a rare Bugatti Tourbillon sports car for €4.5 million during a visit to Paris to commemorate D-Day in June. The source of the funds is alleged to have been US military aid. The story appeared on an obscure French website just a few days ago and was quickly debunked.
Experts have flagged anomalies in the invoice posted online. A whistleblower quoted in the story appears only in an edited video, which could have been artificially created. Bugatti issued a sweeping denial, calling it “fake news,” and its Paris dealer threatened legal action against those behind the story.
But the lie has since gone viral, widely shared by influencers.
Pro-Russia, pro-Donald Trump activist Jackson Hinkle posted a link on X, which has been seen by more than 6.5 million people. Several other accounts have spread the story to at least 12 million other users, according to the site’s statistics.
Source: A Russian-originated disinformation operation aimed at undermining the government of Ukraine, first exposed by BBC Verify last year.
An investigation that spanned more than six months and involved examining hundreds of articles on dozens of websites found that the operation had a new target: American voters.
While some were ignored, others were shared by influential members of the US Congress.
Another hoax that went viral earlier this year took a more direct aim at American politics.
It was published on a website called The Houston Post – one of dozens of American-named websites that are actually run from Moscow – and claimed that the FBI had illegally wiretapped Donald Trump’s Florida resort.
It played perfectly on Trump’s accusations that the legal system is unfairly biased against him, that there is a conspiracy to thwart his campaign, and that his opponents are using dirty tricks to undermine him. Trump himself has accused the FBI of listening to his conversations.