Friday, September 19, 2025

Context

Stories in the Context section are not fakes. We publish them in order to provide greater insight for our readers about the techniques, methods and practices used by the Russian government in its information war. They appear on our site with the permission of their original publisher and reflect the views of the authors and not necessarily the position of StopFake’s editorial board.

Fighting the American ‘occupation’ of Romania

By Corina Rebegea, for CEPA The injection of anti-West narratives in online media and social platforms has become business as usual in Romania. The country’s...

Pro-Kremlin tabloid TV network is reportedly shutting down and laying off all staff

By Meduza The pro-Kremlin television network Life, owned by Aram Gabrelyanov’s “News Media,” will shut down on August 18, company sources told the news agency...

NATO Needs an Offensive Cybersecurity Policy

By Barbara Roggeveen, for Atlantic Council Modern-day warfare is as much about cyberattacks and the protection of communication and information systems as it is about...

Putin regime is driving out the most qualified cadres, Levada Center’s Gudkov says

Russia faces a massive brain drain because those seeking to leave Russia now in ever greater numbers are the most educated and competent, Lev...

Russian Journalist Sokolov Jailed for Extremism After Calling for Referendum

A Moscow court on Thursday sentenced Russian journalist Alexander Sokolov to three and a half years in jail for extremism, in a case Sokolov...

Russian federal censor adds Snapchat to government list of instant messengers without company’s knowledge

By Meduza Correction: Snapchat has clarified that Russia's Internet censor added Snap Inc. to its list of online messengers without its knowledge. Initial reports that...

Civil war in Latvia? Not so fast

Pro-Kremlin media plays with the idea of civil war in Latvia By Mārtiņš Kaprāns, for CEPA On 5 July, the pro-Kremlin news portal Vesti.lv published an...

Kremlin squeezes Russian internet providers

By Donald N. Jensen, for CEPA In late July, Russian President Vladimir Putin tightened restrictions on internet usage in Russia by signing amendments to an...

Philippines: On Facebook’s free version, fake news is even harder to spot

By Mong Palatino, for Global Voices Facebook is an important platform for sharing news and information online. But even the most savvy of internet users...

Donbas militants ‘sentence’ blogger to 14 years for “spreading negative information”

By Halya Coynash. for Human Rights in Ukraine A so-called military court in the self-proclaimed ‘Luhansk people’s republic’ has sentenced two Ukrainians to huge...