A fake news website falsely claimed that Ukraine's president is paying Western reporters to tarnish US President Donald Trump - part of a series of deceptive reports spread by Russian-linked portals mimicking media outlets.
The disinformation tactic, amid heightened international efforts to halt the three-year war with Russia, seeks to undermine both Ukraine and public trust in mainstream media, researchers say.
This adds to the increasingly troubling trend of attributing false information to established media brands, illustrating how the news medium is being actively hijacked to advance Ukraine-related disinformation.
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Earlier this month, Clear Story News falsely reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was using US taxpayer dollars to pay Western media journalists to target Trump.
The article was accompanied with an image of a letter purportedly sent by Zelensky's office to the leader of Ukraine's parliament, demanding that a "plan" be developed to "create a negative image" of Trump.
The letter appeared fabricated, with the seal and signature digitally altered and the formatting inconsistent with official letters from Zelensky's office, disinformation watchdog NewsGuard said, citing analysis from the media verification platform InVID.
NewsGuard called Clear Story News a Russian influence site linked to John Mark Dougan, a US fugitive turned Kremlin propagandist.
The article and purported letter...
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