A Kremlin-linked disinformation network collected remarks by then-US Sen. JD Vance as evidence that a fabricated story about yacht purchases linked to President Volodymyr Zelensky had reached American political debate, The Insider reported on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
The investigation cited hacked correspondence between Russia’s Presidential Administration and the Social Design Agency, one of the organizations behind the operation known as Doppelgänger.
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The yacht allegations appeared in Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda and on DC Weekly, an English-language website publishing fabricated news.
In December 2023, Vance asked on Steve Bannon’s podcast: “So that one of Zelensky’s ministers can buy a bigger yacht?”
The Insider said operatives collected his remarks, other reactions and attempts to debunk the story in internal files prepared for the Presidential Administration. Those records document what the campaign claimed as a success; they do not establish that Vance knowingly repeated Russian disinformation.
How fabricated stories acquire credibility
Doppelgänger combines invented stories with websites designed to resemble legitimate news outlets and social media accounts that amplify the material.
As Kyiv Post previously reported, French investigators identified fake websites and accounts circulating pro-Russian content and attacking Ukraine and its leaders in 2023.
The deception borrows the appearance of familiar publications to make fabricated reports seem credible. Coordinated accounts then help those reports reach audiences beyond the websites themselves.
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EU DisinfoLab, which named the operation, has documented impersonations of outlets including Le Monde, The Guardian and Der Spiegel, as well as government institutions. Its research identifies weakening support for Ukraine and exploiting divisions in countries supporting Kyiv as central objectives.
The Insider’s investigation describes a broader workforce producing multilingual material and using artificial intelligence to identify politically sensitive subjects. It also reports efforts to attract attention from prominent figures, including Elon Musk and Vance.
US investigators traced the network to the Kremlin
The investigation builds on earlier disclosures by US authorities.
In September 2024, the US Justice Department announced the seizure of 32 internet domains used in Russian government-directed influence campaigns known as Doppelgänger.
The department alleged that Russian organizations, including the Social Design Agency, operated under the direction of the Presidential Administration and its first deputy chief of staff, Sergei Kiriyenko.
Their objectives included reducing international support for Ukraine, promoting Russian interests and influencing US and other foreign elections.
Investigators described the use of fabricated identities, paid advertisements and AI-generated material to drive readers toward deceptive websites.
Paid advertising also helped the operation reach audiences on mainstream platforms.
Research reported by AFP estimated that Meta received approximately $338,000 for at least 8,000 sponsored posts linked to the campaign between August 2023 and November 2024.
The researchers, from Check First, Reset Tech and AI Forensics, said their findings captured only part of the activity. Responding to AFP, Meta pointed to its earlier investigations and said it had blocked tens of thousands of posts associated with the network.
The campaign also exploited events offline
The Insider’s files also covered the Stars of David painted on buildings in Paris in autumn 2023 and a fabricated video threatening visitors to the Paris Olympics.
The French Foreign Ministry publicly attributed the amplification of the graffiti photographs to the Russian-linked RRN/Doppelgänger network in November 2023.
French investigators identified 1,095 automated accounts on X that published 2,589 posts. At the time, the ministry distinguished that finding from the separate investigation into who commissioned the graffiti.
The Insider said the network’s internal reporting recorded both the spread of its fabrications and the responses they generated, including debunks.
For its Kremlin overseers, a false story reaching an American politician’s remarks could become evidence of influence—even after the original allegation had been exposed.
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