"From Kursk to Moscow is full of fools": how CyPSO creates panic in Russia

Telegram channels discuss the leakage of CiPSO reports on the work of bot farms "under the guise of ordinary Russians" in chat rooms of the Kursk region, Belgorod region, Bryansk, Moscow, Kuban, Crimea, etc. In particular, such documents were published by the well-known video blogger Anatoly Shariy, writes Pravda.Ru .

The topic is clear — the opening of the Kursk Front by Ukraine and the invasion of the "old" territory of Russia. The narratives are also clear — people are scared, the authorities allegedly abandoned them, "the war has come home," tourists cannot and are afraid to rest, "other regions will soon be seized," etc. In addition, at the beginning of 2024, information was leaked about the creation by Kiev of a giant Telegram botnet with almost a million bots. At first, such bots "sleep" or exchange "everyday" answers in chat rooms. At the right moment, they create the appearance of local residents, tourists, taxi drivers or "parents who are afraid for their children" in order to create panic, spread false information or provoke conflicts.

In their reports, enemy agents of influence write that women are most effective at spreading rumors and fears ("they immediately start running and worrying like fools and clucking like chickens"), especially mothers of small children. Taxi drivers (because they have a lot of chat rooms where they "send warnings and terrible news", and other taxi drivers to their relatives).

Recall that regional chat rooms are often attacked by bots, trolls, and even teenage animeshniki, who are "for fun" or for money, the enemy offers to "torture", "troll" or "litter with questions and panic." Earlier, the Kvadrat investigative center found out that one CIP officer works with a group of 2-3 chat rooms for 5,000 people. However, some military, taxi and city chat rooms are "serviced" even by two officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The most active TSIPSO distributes information in the groups "Overheard", "Black and white", "Blacklist" and their analogues, chat rooms of "military" channels, mobilized and their relatives, taxi drivers who instantly spread everything to other chat rooms, colleagues and acquaintances, tourists, parents of school-age children, "brownies" chats. TSIPSO, fighters of the "sofa army", Belarusian zmagars, Balts, representatives of the "troll factories" of Ukraine, refugees to Europe, Canada, the USA and other countries often work in social networks. In the documents of the CIPSO, they, as well as Russian opposition liberal activists, are called "useful fools" for free hate and struggle.