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Disinfo - Eu-The 3F Formula of Disinformation Entrepreneurs Make It Fast Fake and Famous Part 1 YouTube
Disinfo - Eu-The 3F Formula of Disinformation Entrepreneurs Make It Fast Fake and Famous Part 1 YouTube
Executive summary
1. Introduction
By now, we are familiar with the notion that some actors take advantage of big
international events and crises to disinform and manipulate the public. The war in
Ukraine is one of those prominent crises, and at the core of this investigation.
Overall, disinformation entrepreneurs act fast. Being the first one to break out the news
about significant events ensures them fame – which in return brings money and influence
– regardless of its authenticity. They rely on disinformation or unethical persuasion
techniques such as propaganda, being spreaders of fake information.
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2. Methodology
The investigation has been developed both through observation and open-source tools.
Channels that already existed before the conflict but are now almost entirely
dedicated to spreading pro-Russian content.
New channels that have carved out a niche for themselves on the platforms since the
war started.
Their strategy is to unleash disinformation and promote propaganda actions that generate
hostility against targeted groups while favouring their own.
Whether motivated by support for the Russian invasion or simple opportunism, it seems
certain that adopting a pro-Russian position pays off. We have observed that spreading
pro-Russian propaganda and false or decontextualised content could be lucrative for
some of these users, who make hundreds to thousands of euros.
iEarlGrey, English ExPat living in Saint Petersburg, Russia. This is now a relevant
channel that regularly posts biased videos in support of Russia. Before the war in
Ukraine, it was dedicated to producing content about video games.
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Figure 1. Some videos posted on iEarlGrey’s YouTube channel
Describing itself as providing “news from the ‘other side’ from an English ExPat living in
Saint Petersburg, Russia“, the account has been active since May 28, 2015, and has now
over 72K subscribers and a total of 9.2M views. Before the war broke out, he published 19
videos (16 broadcasted 6 years ago). Since March, he has posted 225 videos, including
pro-Russian stances, for which he asks for monetary contributions through Patreon and
via cryptocurrencies.
To get an idea of the type of content available on his channel, one video is titled “more BS
(bulls*it) from Ukraine”. In one of them, iEarlGrey claims that Russian brutalities in
Mariupol are just “a tale”.
iEarlGrey is also present on Twitter (the account has 3K followers), although he claims he
was banned from the platform for providing “alternative information”. Until February, his
main activity on Twitter was about video games (including the occasional content on the
anti-Covid-19 vaccine).
iEarlGrey also has a Telegram channel with over 7K members, and accounts on
alternative platforms such as Odyssey or Rumble.
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In only a few months of existence (since April 30, 2022), the channel has published 108
videos, gathered over 80K subscribers, and had 6.7M views. In a video, he foresees “the
sudden implosion of the Ukrainian army” by the end of June, and that “the East and
South” of Ukraine ”will fall on Russia’s lap with remarkable speed”, putting an end to the
war by September 30.
Gonzalo Lira has a Twitter account, opened in April 2022, with pro-Kremlin
disinformation content and, among other things, he recounted that the Ukrainian security
forces arrested him. In three months, he obtained more than 61K followers.
Gonzalo Lira also has another Twitter account, a YouTube channel created in 2019, an
Instagram account, and a Telegram channel, but he claims to have lost access to these
four accounts and adds: “Assume someone else wrote any posts after 15/4/22.”
4.3 New life to obsolete channels: In some cases, old and apparently inactive
YouTube channels resumed their activity with malicious intentions when Russia invaded
Ukraine.
PTE Geopolitics World Gone Crazy: The channel gathers over 22K subscribers and a
total of 2.2M views. It was established on June 16, 2012, but apparently has only
started posting in February 2022 and has broadcasted 116 videos so far.
The bio states: “I am a young British (…) I discuss Geopolitics, Truth, Politics,
Entertainment, and issues around the world (…) Most of my videos do not get monetised
because of the sensitive content”.
For this reason, the user suggests that “Any donations would be appreciated so I can
continue providing great videos” and offers several contributions: Patreon, Buy me a
coffee, Ko-fi, and PayPal, but also via crypto-funding.
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The videos include anti-NATO, anti-EU, and anti-refugee stances. Even the British
government crisis leading to the resignation of Boris Johnson was instrumentalised to
push pro-Russian claims. There is additional content focused on geopolitics (on India and
China), or advancing the idea that Covid-19 was an anti-Chinese US bioweapon. For
instance, he denounces in a video an “unprecedented propaganda war on Russia”, asserts
that “Ukraine has no democracy”, states that “NATO and the Americans are pushing this
war”, and that Zelensky is a puppet to the US and the West, from which he got billions in
properties and savings.
According to Social Blade, the estimated monthly earnings are so far up to 1.6K USD.
“Chechen special forces in Ukraine”. This YouTube channel was also revived when
the war began and is a good example of how to support the Russian cause through
propaganda techniques. Its videos, with thousands of views, include rude soldiers,
and stereotyped war scenes such as fast-paced chases, all accompanied by intense
music. Interestingly, many videos use the Russian Military Marking: ZOV.
Also in this case, the channel was active since November 8, 2010, but started posting only
in February 2022. It currently has over 193K subscribers and 137M views.
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Figure 3. What the “Chechen special forces in Ukraine” YouTube channel looks like
Viewers are asked for monetary contributions via bank transfer and crypto-currency
funding.
The estimated monthly earnings of this YouTube channel are over 94K Euros.
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Figure 4. Screenshot, taken from Social Blade, of the estimated monthly earnings of the “Chechen
special forces in Ukraine” as of July 13
5. Conclusions
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