The United Kingdom has imposed sanctions on three Russian organizations and three individuals for orchestrating a disinformation campaign meant to weaken international support for Ukraine. The British government’s sanctions target entities and individuals responsible for the “Doppelgänger” operation, an extensive online network that disseminates false information through spoofed websites and manipulated social media content.
The sanctioned entities include the Social Design Agency (SDA) and its partner company Structura, both of which were previously sanctioned by the United States in March and the European Union in August of last year. The sanctions extend to SDA’s founder Ilya Gambashidze, its current chief executive and Structura’s owner, Nikolay Tupikin, and the SDA’s project director, Andrey Perla.
Doppelgänger operates a sophisticated network to distribute counterfeit content in English, German, and French, deploying tactics that circumvent content moderation and social media platform defenses. The SDA has reportedly built at least 120 websites designed to mimic legitimate news and government sites, misleading audiences through fake posts, counterfeit documents, and deepfake videos.
The primary objective of the DoppelGänger campaign is to lessen support for Ukraine amidst Russian aggression and to foster divisions within nations that support Ukraine. The campaign has targeted audiences in France, Germany, Ukraine, the United States, and several other countries including the United Kingdom, Lithuania, Switzerland, Slovakia, and Italy. In recent months, disinformation narratives have also targeted Israel, primarily aiming to undermine the United States due to its alliance with Tel Aviv.