Verified Disinformation: How X Profits From the Rise of a Pro-Kremlin Network
By Aleksandra Atanasova, Riccardo Giannardi and Pelin Ünsal
Documented a network of about 530 inauthentic X accounts that doubled over five months and used paid verification to amplify Kremlin-aligned propaganda in six languages, posting roughly 16,000 times between June and October 2024 to EU audiences, with X monetising the Doppelganger-linked operation.
Executive summary
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Reset Tech tracked a network of inauthentic X accounts amplifying pro-Kremlin narratives, which grew from around 260 to about 530 accounts over five months and leaned heavily on X's paid 'verified' badges to boost reach.
Between June and October 2024 the network posted roughly 16,000 times in six languages, targeting EU audiences with content linked to the Doppelganger operation. Because many of the accounts paid X for verification, the platform was directly earning revenue from the influence operation it was hosting.
The report argues this is a systemic-risk and monetisation failure under the DSA: X's verification-for-pay model actively subsidises coordinated foreign interference rather than mitigating it.
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