Russia’s New Tactic: Hijacking Accounts on Bluesky to Spread Misinformation

Russia has hacked into real user accounts on Bluesky, a social media platform, to spread fake news articles according to the company. This is a novel tactic by Russia to disseminate propaganda in the West.

Ben Gilbert, who describes himself on Bluesky as an “economist, lit and guitar nerd, rugby fan, owner of excessive pets,” is a professor at the Colorado School of Mines. He rarely posts, focusing mainly on natural resource issues. Last month, a video falsely claiming to be a news report appeared on his account, accusing France’s support for Ukraine of causing domestic police shortages.

Mr. Gilbert stated he was unaware his account had been compromised, attributing this to Russia’s latest attempt to propagate misinformation. Hundreds of other Bluesky accounts, including those belonging to influential professionals like journalists, educators, a Texas pollster, an anime artist, and a Hollywood filmmaker, were also hijacked to post fake news.

The researchers from Clemson University, in collaboration with the internet monitoring group known as the dTeam, linked the fraudulent campaign to a Moscow-based company named the Social Design Agency. This activity demonstrates Russia’s continuous efforts to undermine public support for Ukraine, following their 2022 invasion of the country.