Original Source
Middle East War 'Fake Euronews' Reports Spread, Suspected Russian Links
AI-Generated Fake News Spreads
Recently, false reports impersonating Euronews have been manipulating and disseminating information related to the Middle East War. According to James Thomas of The Cube, these reports were produced using AI voice cloning software to manipulate the voices of real journalists and generate new content from pre-written scripts. For example, a report on a drone attack on a luxury hotel in Dubai included the false claim that Ukrainian looters were active after the attack, which was achieved by overlaying manipulated audio onto stock images.
Targeting Ukrainian and Armenian High-Profile Figures
Using similar methods, false claims were made about a luxury mansion owned by a Ukrainian general being damaged, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was also targeted by fake news. The report falsely claimed that Pashinyan's Dubai apartment suffered $170 million in damages from an Iranian attack on the UAE. This information had already been circulated since 2021 on Russian Telegram channels Mediaport and The Gazeta of Armenians in Russia. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Pashinyan denied the content on X (formerly Twitter), stating that it was entirely fabricated and did not correspond to reality.
Russian-Linked Disinformation Campaign
This disinformation campaign is linked to 'Operation Matryoshka,' and Antibot4Navalny, which tracks bot networks, has connected this campaign to Russian actors. This network, which uses bot accounts to post a large volume of videos, has been identified as being associated with Russia. In addition to Euronews, several other prominent news organizations and research institutions have been imitated using these tactics. Researchers state that the disinformation purveyors are exploiting the Middle East War to spread unrelated narratives and undermine the reputations of Ukraine and the West.
*Source: YouTube: Euronews (2026-03-11)*
