Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "SouthFront" in English language version.
South Front is registered in Russia, money, donated to the site goes to Russia and the editor is named Anastasia. But the most compelling evidence for South Front's being Russian is in the content. South Front is not an alternative website, challenging the mainstream, corporate media. South Front is loyally relaying whatever suits the Kremlin, pretending not to be Russian.
South Front is a Russian site. All this could be discovered through open resources for checking meta-data. Nothing secret, nothing strange. You don't need to be employing the EU Super Secret Super Mega Computer to perform a whois-search.
Our findings show that following Facebook's takedown in April 2020, Facebook traffic to these sites has fallen somewhat. But this decline was part of a broader trend in falling social media traffic that did not neatly correspond to Facebook's actions in April. These sites maintained their overall levels of traffic with growth from direct traffic, such as users typing website addresses directly into their browsers or, perhaps more likely, sharing links with messaging apps and search engines....
What stood out in our research was the fact that in 2020 the number of SouthFront links added to Wikipedia increased by 397%, and most links were added after the takedown (especially in the second half of the year). Most of the links added to Wikipedia concerned conflicts in the Middle East..
This network used fake accounts and operated fictitious personas and brands across the internet — including on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Telegram, Odnoklassniki and VK — to appear more authentic in an apparent attempt to withstand scrutiny by platforms and researchers...They claimed to be based in Kyiv...This operation ran a handful of websites masquerading as independent news outlets, publishing claims about the West betraying Ukraine and Ukraine being a failed state.
The Oxford University study, which traced the reach of three websites with clear ties to the Russian government, adds a new dimension to revelations of a Kremlin cyber campaign aimed at undermining Americans' trust in democracy during last year's U.S. elections and helping Donald Trump win the presidency.
Facebook removed profiles related to News Front and South Front in 2020, and the company confirmed to NBC News that the new group shared connections to the accounts that were previously banned. Both websites have pushed misleading articles, questioning the results of the 2020 presidential election and the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines. The State Department identified the websites as Russian disinformation outlets in a 2020 report.
In late 2013 Veterans Today began publishing content from the government-charted Russian Academy of Sciences geopolitical journal New Eastern Outlook. At a similar time, its sister site, Veterans News Now, began publishing content from the Moscow think tank Strategic Culture Foundation. Similarly, the website South Front, was registered in Moscow in early 2015 and partnered with Veterans Today later that year.
In October 2015, Veterans Today also partnered with a slickly designed, anonymously authored military affairs website called South Front that had been registered in Moscow that April just as Russia was ramping up its influence operations in response to Western sanctions.
"South Front," a group supporting pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. The video, which begins with an unsubstantiated claim that "mass murder of civilians [by the Ukrainian Army] continues," is part of a growing effort by separatist supporters to expand their reach beyond Russian-speakers.
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence (a.k.a. SouthFront), is a multilingual online disinformation site registered in Russia that focuses on military and security issues. With flashy infographics, maps, and videos, SouthFront combines Kremlin talking points with detailed knowledge of military systems and ongoing conflicts. It attempts to appeal to military enthusiasts, veterans, and conspiracy theorists, all while going to great lengths to hide its connections to Russia.
SouthFront is a disinformation site that receives taskings from the FSB. Following the 2020 U.S. presidential election, SouthFront sought to promote perceptions of voter fraud during the 2020 U.S. presidential election cycle, and was designated pursuant to E.O. 13848, E.O. 13694, as amended, and E.O. 13382 on April 15, 2021, for having engaged in foreign interference in the 2020 U.S. presidential election and being owned or controlled by, or for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the FSB.
Russian Intelligence Services, namely the Federal Security Service (FSB)...directly operates disinformation outlets. SouthFront is an online disinformation site registered in Russia that receives taskings from the FSB. It attempts to appeal to military enthusiasts, veterans, and conspiracy theorists, all while going to great lengths to hide its connections to Russian intelligence. In the aftermath of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, SouthFront sought to promote perceptions of voter fraud by publishing content alleging that such activity took place during the 2020 U.S. presidential election cycle.
