Researchers have tracked more activity by an influence campaign linked to Russia that spreads disinformation and propaganda in the U.S., Germany and Ukraine through a vast network of social media accounts and fake websites.

The campaign, attributed to the Russia-linked influence operation network called Doppelgänger, has been active since at least May 2022. The U.S. tech company Meta previously referred to Doppelgänger as the “largest” and “most aggressively persistent” malign network sponsored by Russia.

Researchers from Recorded Future’s Insikt Group are currently tracking over 2,000 inauthentic social media accounts associated with Dopplegänger, but say the actual number could be even higher. The Record is an editorially independent unit of Recorded Future.

According to Insikt, the impact of Doppelgänger’s activity on users in Germany, Ukraine, and the U.S. is limited.

“Despite the campaign’s high volume, we did not identify any significant engagement from authentic social media users,” researchers said in a report published Tuesday. “Viewership and other engagement metrics — reshares, likes, and replies — were negligible across the network.”

And yet, Doppelgänger’s activity is worth paying attention to, researchers said, as its operators are constantly improving their tools and tactics and are “willing to invest in extra measures to evade detection.”

Meta warned last week that foreign groups are looking to expand their influence operations as 2024 is an important year for elections around the world.

Insikt did not specify which social media networks the Doppelgänger operation used.

Fake tales of decline

In the campaign analyzed by Insikt, Doppelgänger focused on three targets — Ukraine, Germany and the U.S.

In an operation against Ukraine, a Russia-linked threat actor created over 800 social media accounts that shared links to fake articles impersonating multiple reputable Ukrainian news organizations. These articles “spread narratives undermining Ukraine’s military strength, political stability, and international relationships with Ukraine’s Western allies.”

For example, some of them suggested that the U.S. prioritizes the war in Israel more than the one in Ukraine or sowed doubts about Ukraine’s ability to win the war.

In a campaign that targeted Germany and the U.S., a Russian network operator created fake news outlets producing propaganda content, which was then shared on social media, the researchers said.

Unlike impersonating existing Western news sources, as commonly seen with Doppelgänger so far, these outlets appear to be an attempt to create seemingly new and original sources, researchers said. “This evolving approach likely aims to establish a long-term influence network by evading detection efforts to identify inauthentic impersonators.”

The campaign’s goal in Germany was to share fake narratives of “Germany’s domestic decline due to migration, economic policies, and continued support for Ukraine,” Insikt said.

In the U.S., the threat actor promoted hostile articles criticizing the LGBTQ+ movement (which was recently outlawed in Russia) and raised doubts about U.S. military competence. One of the fake websites linked to Doppelgänger produced election-related content, which was likely generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

“This campaign likely intends to exploit US societal and political divisions ahead of the 2024 US election,” researchers said.

Kremlin-approved tactics

Influence operations like Doppelgänger are common tactics used by Russia as part of its information warfare.

Doppelgänger was previously linked to two Russian companies: Structura National Technologies and Social Design Agency, whose clients include several Russian government agencies, local government entities, state-owned enterprises and private companies.

Both companies were sanctioned by the European Union in August for their involvement in Doppelgänger.

In November, the U.S. government also linked these two entities to a disinformation campaign across Latin America aimed at undermining support for Ukraine and discrediting the U.S. and NATO.

In its previous campaigns, Doppelgänger also targeted the U.S. and seven European countries, with a specific focus on Germany and France. The network’s most common tactic is the impersonation of media outlets or political organizations, such as the French Ministry of Public Affairs, the German Ministry of the Interior, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The network’s evolution indicates that it can “have long-term societal impacts,” while the likely use of generative AI to create written content demonstrates “the evolving use of AI in Russian information warfare campaigns.”

“As the popularity of generative AI grows, malign influence actors, including Doppelgänger, will very likely increasingly leverage AI to produce scalable influence content,” researchers said.

Source: The Record

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Jakarta, Surakarta, Berlin (7/12 – 11)

Amid a generally declining period for Germany’s national football team, the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia has been a shining light for them. Germany is one of the most successful national teams ever in international competition. They have won four World Cups (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014), three European Championships (1972, 1980, 1996), and a Confederations Cup (2017). Nevertheless, in recent years, Germany is suffering a horrid fate.

In 2018, Germany suffered their first-ever first-round exit from the World Cup, since 1938. Germany became the fifth defending champions to be eliminated in the group stages of the World Cup, following Brazil in 1966, France in 2002, Italy in 2010, and Spain in 2014. Again, they were knocked out of the World Cup in the group stage for the second consecutive tournament in 2022.

At the UEFA European Championship in 2020, Germany also fell short. They only managed to reach the round of 16. At the UEFA Nations League, Germany consecutively finished 11th in 2018-2019, 8th in 2020-2021, and 10th in 2022-2023.

This year, poor performances persist, confirming that Germany is in a long decline. They lost six times and only won three times in eleven matches throughout the year. Julian Nagelsmann was installed as new Head Coach on 22 September 2023, but lost to Turkey and Austria last month in his first two games.

In the middle of this crisis, there is finally good news for Germany, from their participation in the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Last Saturday, Germany were victorious in the final against France. They lifted the trophy after a hard-fought game, which ended 2-2 in regulation time. Germany went on to beat France 4-3 in a penalty shootout at Manahan Stadium, Surakarta, Central Java.

For the first time in history, Germany was crowned as world champions at the U-17 level, completing their World Cup trophies at senior and U-20 level. These young Germans show that they have a lot of potential. They were unbeaten throughout the World Cup tournament in Indonesia.

Worth noting that six months earlier, this team also won the 2023 UEFA European U-17 Championship. Germany has become the first nation to win the UEFA European U-17 Championship and U-17 World Cup in the same year. Some of their players shone and could be counted as stars for the future. Forward Paris Brunner received the Golden Ball award as the best player in the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Brunner followed in the footsteps of his fellow countryman Toni Kroos, who won the coveted award in 2007.

If Kroos manages to go on and become the 2014 FIFA World Cup winner, nobody can write Brunner off for not achieving the same. Midfielder and captain Noah Darvich already made a notable name, as Barcelona recruited him in August.

Max Moerstedt, Robert Ramsak, Bilal Yalcinkaya, Eric da Silva Moreira, David Odogu, Maximilian Henning, and Charles Hermann are several other players that could form the backbone of the German national team in the next ten years. “We have got players with incredible talent who also have a great mentality. This combination makes anything possible,” Germany’s coach Christian Wuck said.

Obviously, it’s still a long way for Noah Darvich and Co to prove their worth in the next steps, because success at the youth level doesn’t often translate into success for the first team. Nevertheless, the U-17 team’s accomplishment in Indonesia definitely brings hope that there is a light at the end of the dark tunnel that Germany is in right now.

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Mainz, Germany: Deputy Speaker Dolma Tsering Teykhang of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile as a part of the delegation of Members of South Asian Parliamentarians has successfully concluded her study tour to Germany from 5 to 11 November, 2023.

Other members of the delegation include Shri Sujeet Kumar, a member of Rajya Sabha, India; Dr. P. Sudharshini Fernandopulle, a member of Parliament, Sri Lanka; Mrs. Nagina Yadav, a member of the House of Representative, Nepal; Mr. Ali Nizar, Mayor of Addu City, Maldives Democratic Party; Mrs. Tshering Tsomo, member of Parliament, Bhutan; and Shri Brijender Singh, member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, India.

After their engagements in Berlin from 6th to 7th Nov 2023, the Deputy Speaker and other delegates left Berlin for Mainz on the next day. There they visited the Haus Burgund and engaged on ‘Discussing European Integration and Regional Partnerships’ with Laurent Vieille, Head of the Facility, Haus Burgund.

On 9th Nov, they visited the ZDF (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen) which is a German public-service television broadcaster and the second German television institute under public law based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. There, they had meetings with Jörg Berendsmeier, Head of the General Foreign Relations Department in the International Affairs Division of ZDF , and Heiko von Debschitz, International Affairs Department, ZDF about German media politics.

Thereafter, they visited the Landtag Rhineland Palatinate (State Parliament) and were briefed on ‘The Role of the State Parliaments in the Federal System’ by Philipp Fernis, MP, FDP Parliamentary Group Chairman. They also toured through the Landtag Rhineland Palatinate and visited the Ministry of Economics, Transport, Agriculture and Viticulture Rhineland-Palatinate. Followed by a productive interactive session with Kathrin Börnemeier, Consultant for the regions East and South Asia as well as Central Asia and the Near and Middle East, Visiting the Ministry of Economics, Transport, Agriculture and Viticulture Rhineland-Palatinate.

On 10th Nov, Elvin Yilmaz, Head of International Department, Rheinhessen Chamber of Commerce and Industry, introduced the delegates to the work of the Rheinhessen Chamber of Commerce and Industry, followed by a working lunch with Emanuel Letz, Chief Mayor of Bad Kreuznach; Dirk Alsentzer, Authorized signatory and Head of Sales at Stadtwerke Bad Kreuznach; and Michael Fluhr, Head of Office for Economic Development and Real Estate. They discussed competences and responsibilities of the municipal level.

After all the engagements there were Q & A sessions during which Deputy Speaker Dolma Tsering Teykhang raised the issues relating to Tibet and Tibetans to draw the attention of the esteemed German officials for their consideration and gave appeal letters on behalf of TPIE.

On 11 November, the Deputy Speaker visited Tibet House at Frankfurt with Dr. Carsten and from there left for Delhi via the Frankfurt Airport.

This visiting program to Berlin & Mainz is organized by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF)

Source: Tibet News

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On July 6, law enforcement in Germany and the Netherlands arrested nine Central Asians on terrorism-related charges. In Germany, five Tajik nationals, one Kyrgyz citizen, and one Turkmenistani citizen were arrested in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia for allegedly creating and participating in a local terrorist organization and supporting Islamic State (IS). In the Netherlands, a married couple—a Tajik husband and Kyrgyz wife—were also arrested in Eindhoven and Breda. Both are suspected of plotting terrorist attacks, with the husband also suspected of IS membership (Kaktus Media, July 6).

Since 2022, the suspects have been collecting money for IS and running a terrorist cell in Germany. They were also probing possible places for attacks and trying to acquire weapons in that country. The Dutch and German authorities were in contact with each other during the investigations, as the suspects in the two countries collaborated in plotting attacks. All nine of the suspects arrived from Ukraine in 2022 as refugees after the Russian invasion (Asiaplus.tj, July 6). Most likely, however, they met each other in Syria or Iraq, where IS controlled vast amounts of territory between 2014 and 2019—and attracted foreign jihadists from around the world, including Central Asia.

IS is now largely defeated in Syria and Iraq. However, its members are scattered around the world and able to exploit their networks and skills to launch attacks elsewhere. The arrests in Germany and the Netherlands show that IS’s legacy lives on and its members and loyalists still present a threat to security in Europe.

Central Asian Foreign Fighters in IS ranks

Between 2011 and 2017, approximately 5,000 people from the five Central Asian states traveled to Syria and Iraq to join IS and other jihadist organizations (Kursiv Media, November 1, 2018). These foreign fighters could be divided into two contingents: the first fought within IS ranks, and the second fought in the ranks of groups linked with al-Qaeda’s affiliate, Jabhat al-Nusra. Central Asian foreign fighters in IS ranks were based around al-Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq. Perhaps the most notorious Central Asian foreign fighter was Tajik national Gulmurod Khalimov, who joined IS in 2015. Prior to joining IS, he was the head of a SWAT team in Tajikistan. Following the death of Abu Umar Shishani in 2016, he was appointed as IS’s minister of war (Kloop.kg, September 5, 2016).

IS has used and inspired its Central Asian members and sympathizers to carry out attacks in various parts of the world. Kyrgyz and Tajik nationals were reported to have been involved in the Istanbul airport attack in 2016, for example (Kloop.kg, July 5, 2016). An Uzbek national, Abdulgadir Masharipov, also carried out an attack at a nightclub in Istanbul in January 2017, killing 39 people (Tass.ru, January 8, 2017). Between 2017 and 2018, IS sympathizers and recruits from Central Asia carried out other vehicular, truck-ramming, and knife attacks in New York, Stockholm, and Tajikistan’s Khatlon province, respectively, killing and injuring dozens. These attacks demonstrated that the IS threat had moved outside of Syria and Iraq’s national borders, becoming a global security issue.

Fleeing to Ukraine and Beyond

IS’s loss of its last stronghold in Syria in 2019 presented IS members with four options: remaining in the still-unstable areas of Syria and Iraq; returning to their home countries; relocating to other theaters of conflict, such as Afghanistan; or fleeing to countries where they would be relatively safe from prosecution and could start a new life—or otherwise wait until new opportunities arose. The final option has been the most compelling for Central Asian militants.

Central Asian foreign fighters began leaving IS ranks as early as 2016, after becoming disillusioned with the organization’s excessive brutality and the perceived cynical behavior of its members. Some of these fighters traveled to Ukraine on their own, while others were deported by Turkish authorities and chose Ukraine as their destination point. [1] Either way, those who chose Ukraine perceived it as a safe haven, with many fellow Russian speakers and a sizable Muslim community into which they could readily integrate (Hromadske.ua, July 17, 2017).

However, another important factor in favor of relocating to Ukraine was the country’s porous borders and the ability to obtain fake identities with new passports (Hromadske.ua, July 17, 2017). By mid-2017, several hundred IS members had moved to Ukraine, including Georgian national Tsezar Tohosashvilli, who served as the deputy to IS’s former minister of war, Abu Umar Shishani. However, he was arrested by Ukraine’s national security service in 2019 with fake documents (Zaborona, December 2, 2020; Militant Leadership Monitor, January 3, 2020).

Conclusion

In the case of the nine Central Asians arrested in Germany and the Netherlands, residence in Ukraine allowed them to relocate to Europe as “refugees.” The fact that nationals of three different Central Asian countries established a terrorist network in Europe and plotted attacks together shows their shared past as IS members continued after the fall of IS’s “territorial caliphate.” Such Central Asian IS veterans may be relatively few in number, but still present a threat to European security from the shadows.

Source: James Town

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Frankfurt (21/08 – 44.44)

The Kazakh capital, Astana will play host to the first-ever international scientific conference Central Asian Oncology Week on September 6-8, as announced by the Kazakh Healthcare Ministry’s press service.

The leading experts from Central Asia, CIS and non-CIS countries are expected to share the best practices, hold satellite symposiums, and debate reports aimed at promoting and introducing international practice of oncologists in Kazakhstan.

Speakers from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Türkiye, Russia, Belarus, the UK, Germany, the U.S. and South Korea are expected to attend the conference.

It is organized by the National Scientific Oncology Centre and Society of Surgical Oncologists with the support of the Kazakh Healthcare Ministry.

The conference will be held offline as well as online in Kazakh, Russian and English.

Astana will play host to the first-ever international scientific conference Central Asian Oncology Week on September 6-8, 2023.

Source

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Germany has donated a new batch of equipment to Kyiv, including 54 Vector reconnaissance drones, a TRML-4D multifunctional radar system for air surveillance and interception of targets, and two Biber tank bridge layers.

As follows from the updated list of weapons published by the German government that Berlin handed over to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Kiev will also receive 15 trucks (including minibuses), eight Zetros trucks, 34 pickup trucks, three mobile and protected demining equipment, six vehicles for border guards, as well as a frequency scanner and frequency suppressor.

Earlier, the German Ministry of Defense reported that the country’s government was preparing a new package of military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of €2.7 billion.

Source: EurAsia Daily

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