From Troll Farms to Deepfakes: A Guide to Russian Disinformation from Ukraine to the European Political Arena

Tamta Pantsulaia explains in her article how Russian disinformation has evolved from traditional troll farms into more advanced tactics, including AI-generated content and deepfakes, targeting audiences in Ukraine and across Europe. She highlights that these campaigns are designed to justify Russia’s actions manipulate public perception. The article emphasises how these efforts work to undermine trust in democratic institutions and media by spreading misleading narratives through coordinated networks, fake websites, and impersonated sources. By exploiting existing social and political divisions, these operations amplify polarisation and confusion among different audiences. The article underscores that this shift toward more sophisticated forms of information warfare represents a growing challenge to European security and democratic resilience, requiring stronger awareness and coordinated responses from governments, media, and civil society.