Name: Stolen bylines: The Russian propaganda strategy haunting the newsroom
Uploaded: 2025-11-07T19:24:26.264Z
Duration: 1 min 48 s
Description: As part of a trend that is becoming an increasing headache for the media, pro-Russian actors are spreading propaganda through fake news outlets and by impersonating real journalists.

As part of a trend that is becoming an increasing headache for the media, pro-Russian actors are spreading propaganda through fake news outlets and by impersonating real journalists.

Kyiv

Pro-Russian disinformation actors have been orchestrating campaigns that use fake bylines and sham news websites to spread false stories online. Journalists have discovered their names attached to articles they did not write, published on sites mimicking legitimate news outlets. These tactics are part of a broader propaganda strategy, including operations like Russia's Storm 1516, which seek to lend credibility to false claims by impersonating real journalists and organizations.

Specific incidents include French journalist Romain Fiacchetti finding his byline on fabricated stories, such as false allegations against a French nuclear waste company and the Moldovan president. Organizations tracking disinformation, like Check First, are urging journalists to take legal action and press online platforms to remove misleading content.

Stolen bylines: The Russian propaganda strategy haunting the newsroom

How are pro-Russian actors fueling fake bylines and sham news stories? Journalists are finding their names on stories they never wrote, while sham news sites bearing names which resemble legitimate outlets are cropping up online. This fits into a propaganda strategy orchestrated by pro-Russian disinformation actors, some of which are part of Russia's Storm 1516 operation. These operations are trying to give weight to the claims that they are, you know, putting out. And sometimes they also try to reach out to fact-checkers and other journalists, you know, using these names and logos to make them believe that something, some, you know, information of importance needs to be verified. French journalist Romain Fiacchetti discovered his byline in a series of articles published on the now suspended Courrier France 24 website. One article falsely alleged that French nuclear waste company Orano was secretly bribing Armenian officials to dispose of France's waste. The website, the EU Insider, used my name to publish a story about Moldovan President Maya Sandu claiming that she embezzled USID funds. Of course, I've written about corruption, about politics in Romania, about Moldova a number of times, especially since they had this big election. I guess that's why they chose my name, because they saw someone who wrote about politics in English. Check First, which tracks disinformation and foreign influence operations, has been urging journalists to take legal action, as well as to pressure platforms to remove false content.

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