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CRC Weekly: Cyber-based hostile influence campaigns 3rd-9th November 2025
- CRC
- 6 days ago
- 9 min read
[Introduction]
Cyber-based hostile influence campaigns are aimed at influencing target audiences by promoting information and/or disinformation over the internet, sometimes combined with cyber-attacks which enhance their effect.
During the last week we observed, collected and analyzed endpoints of information related to cyber-based hostile influence campaigns (including Cyfluence attacks). This weeks report is a summary of what we regard as the main events.
[Contents]
10. EU and UK Rules Target Manipulated Content in Global Conflicts
[ Report Highlights]
Russian influence operations are now deliberately flooding the web with propaganda to corrupt the training data of AI language models. -Nippon
Evidence of foreign influence is now surfacing even in Canada's smallest province, intensifying calls for a full national inquiry into Chinese operations. -The Hill Times
A Russian operation codenamed "Storm-1516" is stealing journalists' identities to publish fake articles on fabricated news websites. -Euro News
Authoritarian states are sculpting a "warped alternative reality" by manipulating context to exploit social media algorithms. -The Conversation
New EU and UK laws aim to hold platforms accountable for amplifying propaganda and deleting evidence of human rights abuses. -European External Action Service (EEAS)
A NATO report exposes the structure of Russia's influence machine, which pairs overt state media with deniable, covert "gray networks." -NATO StratCom COE
To mark its 20th anniversary, RT released a deepfake video of U.S. news anchors admitting to serving government interests. -United24Media
China is embedding its influence in the Balkans by creating deep technological dependency through surveillance and infrastructure. -Small Wars Journal
Pro-Kremlin channels are weaponizing climate change, framing Europe's green energy policies as a form of "economic self-destruction" to divide societies. -EU vs. Disinfo
In a major speech, Vladimir Putin claimed that Europe is fleeing “gender terrorism” as part of a campaign to undermine Western unity. -DisinfoWatch
[Weekly Review]
1. Kremlin-Linked Digital Campaigns Target Japanese Election and Corrupt AI Models
Russian-linked influence operations targeted Japan's July 20 House of Councillors election using networks of bots and coordinated replies to amplify divisive content and sow doubt. An article by Nippon revealed that a significant portion of hostile comments on domestic reporting originated from a Kremlin-aligned ecosystem, with one analysis finding that 32 percent of such comments on a single post were linked to Russia-aligned accounts. The hostile influence campaign relied on a high volume of small, inauthentic accounts to infiltrate online conversations. The operation also involved deliberately flooding the web with pro-Kremlin content to "groom" large language models and other AI tools. Japanese-language hubs republished hundreds of pro-Russia items daily, a strategy designed to bias search results and the training data used by AI chatbots. Audits reported that leading generative AI systems subsequently returned false or misleading information on controversial topics far more often, at an average rate of 35 percent.
Source: Nippon, 'Japan's Upper House Election Reveals how Russian Influence Operations Infecting AI with Flood of Propaganda, Stoking Divisions', Available Online: https://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/d01170/japan%E2%80%99s-upper-house-election-reveals-how-russian-influence-operations-infecting-ai-with-.html
2. Russian Influence Operation "Storm-1516" Impersonates Journalists and Media
According to a report from the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence, Russia has developed a comprehensive and adaptive communications strategy that integrates state-controlled media, covert influence networks, and digital campaigns to manipulate global narratives. The publication, titled "The Collage of Kremlin ComStrat," reveals how Moscow combines traditional propaganda with modern hybrid tactics, including AI-driven content and coordinated online amplification through proxy media outlets. This approach aims to sow distrust in Western institutions and shape perceptions of geopolitical events like the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin's strategy emphasizes psychological influence and information saturation, using overt channels like RT and Sputnik alongside covert networks on social media. The report underscores that these information operations are not isolated events but part of a long-term, state-sponsored effort to weaken support for Ukraine and amplify polarization in Western societies. By blending intelligence tradecraft with digital information warfare, Russia's communication strategy demonstrates how manipulated information has become a core instrument of state power.
Source: Euro News , 'False claims and stolen bylines: The Russian propaganda strategy haunting the newsroom' Available Online: https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/11/04/false-claims-and-stolen-bylines-the-russian-propaganda-strategy-haunting-the-newsroom
3. NATO Report Details Russia's Adaptive Strategy for Global Information Warfare
Two decades after its launch, Russia's state-controlled media outlet RT has fully transformed into a tool for global hostile influence campaigns. A report from United24Media highlights how, to mark its 20th anniversary, RT released a deepfake video using AI to impersonate prominent U.S. news anchors, falsely showing them admitting to serving U.S. government interests. This synthetic propaganda is emblematic of RT's pivot toward audiences in the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America—regions less affected by Western sanctions. Despite being banned across Europe and North America, RT has adapted its operations, functioning as what its editor-in-chief calls an "information guerrilla." The channel now utilizes mirror sites, front companies, and alternative platforms like Rumble and VK to continue its reach. It also employs AI to create fake journalists, clone voices, and automate the dissemination of propaganda. Former branches, including RT France and RT Germany, continue to shape local discourse through sympathetic media figures, ensuring the persistence of their information operations.
Source: NATO StratCom COE, 'The Collage of the Kremlin's Communication Strategy' Available Online: https://stratcomcoe.org/publications/the-collage-of-the-kremlins-communication-strategy/324
4. Russia's RT Uses Deepfakes and AI in Global Propaganda Pivot
Two decades after its launch, Russia's state-controlled media outlet RT has fully transformed into a tool for global hostile influence campaigns. A report from United24Media highlights how, to mark its 20th anniversary, RT released a deepfake video using AI to impersonate prominent U.S. news anchors, falsely showing them admitting to serving U.S. government interests. This synthetic propaganda is emblematic of RT's pivot toward audiences in the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America—regions less affected by Western sanctions. Despite being banned across Europe and North America, RT has adapted its operations, functioning as what its editor-in-chief calls an "information guerrilla." The channel now utilizes mirror sites, front companies, and alternative platforms like Rumble and VK to continue its reach. It also employs AI to create fake journalists, clone voices, and automate the dissemination of propaganda. Former branches, including RT France and RT Germany, continue to shape local discourse through sympathetic media figures, ensuring the persistence of their information operations.
Source: United24Media, '20 Years of RT: How Russia's Propaganda Hydra Survived the Ban' Available Online: https://united24media.com/anti-fake/20-years-of-rt-how-russias-propaganda-hydra-survived-the-ban-13121
5. Pro-Kremlin Channels Exploit Climate Change Discourse to Divide European Societies
As Europe faces worsening climate disasters, pro-Kremlin channels are actively manipulating climate discourse to undermine trust in Western institutions. A report from EU vs. Disinfo explains that while Russia's official media acknowledges climate science, its broader information networks push climate denial and distort facts. For Kremlin propagandists, climate change is a strategic weapon used to divide societies and weaken democratic consensus. Their narratives often link EU green energy transitions and sanctions against Russia to "industrial decline," framing Europe's environmental efforts as economic self-destruction. These misleading claims are designed to erode public support for sanctions and renewable energy by exploiting legitimate economic fears. Through coordinated messaging, Moscow’s information operations also smear climate science as a "religion" and attack political leaders who address environmental realities. This strategy is part of a broader effort to portray Russia as a more responsible global actor than the EU while advancing its geopolitical goals.
Source: EU vs. Disinfo (the publisher), 'Sneaky heat: the Kremlin uses climate change to push its favourite FIMI narratives' (the original source title in quotes) Available Online: https://euvsdisinfo.eu/sneaky-heat-the-kremlin-uses-climate-change-to-push-its-favourite-fimi-narratives/
6. The Valdai Discussion Club: Putin's Propaganda Soapbox
An article in DisinfoWatch examines how Vladimir Putin used the 2025 Valdai Discussion Club forum to advance propagandistic narratives, portraying the West as culturally collapsing and Russia as a moral alternative. The speech highlighted specific claims, such as Europe fleeing “gender terrorism” and NATO hysterically militarizing, to reframe defense and diplomacy narratives. By weaponizing culture-war rhetoric, Moscow seeks to undermine Western unity and credibility, especially among vulnerable audiences. The use of the Kremlin-backed Valdai platform and state media like RT ensures these messages are amplified globally, contributing to Russia’s ongoing information warfare campaign. The Valdai Discussion Club, a Moscow-based think tank, has long served as a key venue where Putin and Kremlin officials outline Russia’s ideological and geopolitical positions to both domestic and international audiences, making it a central component in their strategic communications.
Source: DisinfoWatch, 'DisinfoDigest: Decoding Putin's Valdai Speech' Available Online: https://disinfowatch.org/disinfodigest-decoding-putins-valdai-speech/
7. Canadian Province's Request Sparks National Call for China Interference Inquiry
Growing calls for a national inquiry into China's interference in Canada have followed Prince Edward Island (PEI) Premier Rob Lantz's request for a federal investigation into local groups allegedly linked to Beijing's United Front network. A report by The Hill Times notes that this appeal follows revelations from a recent book and a media investigation exposing how Chinese state-affiliated organizations may be influencing Canadian institutions. The report argues that only a full-scale, independent national inquiry, paired with a criminal investigation, can uncover the extent of these hostile influence campaigns. Despite repeated intelligence warnings about election interference, diaspora intimidation, and espionage, federal responses have been described as fragmented and politically cautious. P.E.I.'s call for an inquiry is being viewed as a national call to action, demonstrating that even provinces removed from the country's geopolitical epicenters are experiencing the effects of foreign influence.
Source: DisinfoWatch, 'DisinfoDigest: Decoding Putin's Valdai Speech' Available Online: https://disinfowatch.org/disinfodigest-decoding-putins-valdai-speech/
8. China Uses "Sharp Power" to Deepen Influence in Western Balkans
As published by the Small Wars Journal, China is deepening its presence in the Western Balkans through a blend of defense cooperation, technological dependence, and information manipulation, an approach described as "sharp power." Unlike overt tactics, Beijing's influence relies on subtle yet pervasive methods, with Serbia becoming the focal point of its regional strategy. The country has welcomed Chinese weapon systems, joint military exercises, and advanced surveillance technology that embed long-term dependencies. Chinese state media and local affiliates amplify pro-Beijing narratives through content-sharing agreements and educational programs that promote authoritarian governance models. Through control of digital infrastructure and surveillance systems via companies like Huawei, China not only gains access to critical data but also reinforces its influence over local governments and media ecosystems. This networked approach combines information manipulation with economic leverage, making democratic institutions more vulnerable to external control.
Source: Small Wars Journal (the publisher), 'China's Rising Influence in the Western Balkans and How the West Should Respond' (the original source title in quotes) Available Online: https://smallwarsjournal.com/2025/11/05/chinas-rising-influence-in-the-western-balkans/
9. Authoritarian Regimes Manipulate Context to Create Alternative Digital Realities
An article by The Conversation explains how authoritarian regimes, particularly Russia and China, are perfecting a form of information operation that relies on manipulating context and selective truth rather than outright falsehoods. By amplifying strategically chosen facts while omitting others, these governments create a misleading "alternative reality" that portrays Western democracies as unstable and hypocritical. This strategy is executed through state-run media, influencer networks, and coordinated bot activity across social media platforms, ensuring that distorted narratives infiltrate the news feeds of both domestic and foreign audiences. The analysis argues that this is an adaptive, data-driven campaign designed to exploit the mechanics of modern social media algorithms. This form of narrative warfare reinforces cynicism and polarization, weakening trust in journalism, democratic governance, and the concept of a shared truth. The broader implication is the gradual normalization of authoritarian narratives within global discourse and the erosion of the common factual foundation necessary for democratic societies to function.
Source: The Conversation, 'How authoritarian states sculpt a warped alternative reality in our news feeds' Available Online: https://theconversation.com/how-authoritarian-states-sculpt-a-warped-alternative-reality-in-our-news-feeds-266092
10. EU and UK Rules Target Manipulated Content in Global Conflicts
According to a policy brief by the European External Action Service (EEAS), manipulated information has become a key strategic weapon in modern conflicts, employed by state and non-state actors to disseminate propaganda and erode trust. Online platforms amplify these risks through algorithmic promotion of harmful content, while weak moderation in conflict zones allows hate speech and foreign information manipulation to proliferate. The brief highlights the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) and the United Kingdom's Online Safety Act (OSA) as emerging regulatory tools to counter these threats. These laws require platforms to assess and mitigate systemic risks, including those from hostile influence campaigns and foreign interference, through crisis response mechanisms and transparency requirements. By applying these frameworks with a conflict-sensitive approach, the EU and UK can strengthen information integrity, protect diaspora communities, and set global standards for platform accountability in times of conflict.
Source: European External Action Service (EEAS), 'Assessing and Mitigating Conflict-Related Online Risks: Challenges for Governments, Regulators and Online Platforms ‘Available Online: https://www.isdglobal.org/isd-publications/assessing-and-mitigating-conflict-related-online-risks-challenges-for-governments-regulators-and-online-platforms/
[CRC Glossary]
The nature and sophistication of the modern Information Environment is projected to only continue to escalate in complexity. However, across academic publications, legal frameworks, policy debates, and public communications, the same concepts are often described in different ways, making collaboration, cooperation and effective action more difficult.
To ensure clarity and establish a consistent frame of reference, the CRC is maintaining a standard glossary to reduce ambiguity and promote terminological interoperability. Its scope encompasses foundational concepts, as well as emerging terms relating to Hostile Influence and Cyfluence.
As a collaborative project maintained with input from the community of experts, the CRC Glossary is intended to reflect professional consensus. We encourage you to engage with this initiative and welcome contributions via the CRC website
