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criticism of the Russian MoD and its management of the war. Posts related to these categories received more views and reposts than posts on other topics.
Private military company (PMC) channels: DFRLab analysis of channels affiliated with Russian private military companies (PMCs) identified three key areas of engagement: fundraising, recruiting, and information sharing.
Channels collect money to buy tactical gear, medical supplies, firearms, and other equipment, relying on donations via Russian banks and cryptocurrencies.
Russian PMC channels used the platform to recruit additional fighters to their battalions, often employing patriotic and emotional messaging.
Wagner maintained at least thirty separate channels dedicated to regional recruitment offices. These, however, disappeared after Russian telecommunications regulator Roskomnadzor cracked down on Wagner channels during the mutiny.
Russian PMC channels engage in widespread information sharing on a variety of topics, such official Kremlin statements, current war footage, service awards, and disinformation narratives, including rumors about US biological weapons.
Russian hacktivist channels: The DFRLab identified four peaks in posting activity on Russian hacktivist channels, each of which preceded a notable hacking incident. Mentions of specific countries often spiked prior to these hacking incidents. Ukraine, the United States, and Poland received the most mentions.
Russian media use of Telegram: Telegram’s increasing popularity in Russia was reflected in how Kremlin-controlled, pro-Kremlin, and independent Russian media outlets increasingly cite Telegram content as sources in their news articles.
An analysis of Telegram URLs showed a 481% increase in Telegram citations appearing in the articles of pro-Kremlin media outlets, jumping to 33,300 citations by 2023.
Facebook and Instagram, both of which were banned by the Kremlin, experienced precipitous drops in news citations, while citations of X (formerly Twitter) dropped in 2022 and then increased in 2023, suggesting the impact of the Kremlin ban was only temporary. VKontakte (VK), a Russian social media app, experienced modest citation increases from 1,192 in 2021 to 1,848 in 2023, but its numbers were no match for the Telegram citations, suggesting that VK is not seen as an important information source.
Russian crackdown on anonymous channels: According to data from TGStat, a Telegram analytics platform, approximately half of the top one hundred Russian Telegram channels are anonymous.
16 RUSSIA Country Report July 2024 www.intellinews.com