AUTHOR : ANDREI RUSU
CO – AUTHORS : EUGEN MURAVSCHI, ANDREI CURARARU
The Kremlin has built a network of thousands of auto-generated Facebook pages to hijack public discourse through social media. The “WatchDog.MD” Community identified 146 anonymous pages affiliated with fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, which he uses to place political ads. Additionally, 315 more anonymous pages from the same network are currently in “stand-by” mode” – they do not display a location but are ready to run ads. An analysis of the keywords used in the names of these pages shows they are part of a larger network of at least 2,167 auto-generated Facebook pages created by the Kremlin to influence political processes in the Republic of Moldova and other European states. These figures likely represent only the tip of the iceberg.
Dozens of pages with randomly generated identical names composed of various keywords continue to operate on Facebook, even though META’s rules prohibit the existence of two pages with the same name. In addition to the identical names, the pages use profile pictures of young women stolen from dating or cam sites.
In 2024, using such anonymous pages, the Russian Federation heavily funded Facebook ads to spread disinformation during the European Parliament elections. Approximately 65% of these political ads were aired without disclaimers on Facebook across at least 16 EU countries.
According to monitoring reports from the “WatchDog.MD” Community, between the date Ilan Shor was sanctioned by the U.S. on October 26, 2022, and September 1, 2024, the oligarch spent €469 990 to promote 1,407 Facebook ads.
The identified network will be reported to META, which must take the necessary measures to block pages used by individuals sanctioned by the U.S. for destabilizing the Republic of Moldova.