GoKawiilNo evidence Ukraine's drone strikes on Yandex curbed Russian bot activity
President Zelenskyy claimed last Monday that Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian data centers belonging to Yandex had reduced disinformation and hate on social platforms. However, tracking account antibot4navalny reports bot traffic remains unchanged, and analyst Valdemar Osted says interactions on MAGA and AfD-affiliated accounts have actually risen since the strikes. Charts circulating online that purport to show a decline in bot activity appear to be AI-generated.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The episode suggests that claims about disinformation's defeat can themselves become disinformation, even when voiced by a head of state. It underscores how difficult it is to verify cause-and-effect in information warfare, since infrastructure damage to a tech company's data centers does not necessarily map onto changes in coordinated political messaging. The discrepancy between official claims and independent tracking data highlights the need for scrutiny of even well-intentioned wartime narratives.
- Zelenskyy claimed drone strikes on Yandex data centers reduced online disinformation and hate speech.
- Independent trackers like antibot4navalny and analyst Valdemar Osted found no decline—and even an increase—in bot and troll activity.
- Charts allegedly showing reduced bot traffic appear to be AI-generated, suggesting the claim itself may be a form of disinformation.
Source: theverge.com — Gadel Valle, 2026-10-13
Published there as: “Russian bot farms are still trolling, even after Ukraine’s drone strikes on Yandex”
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