Campaign to Discredit President Zelenskyy: Exposed by Ukraine’s Intelligence Service

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WHAT HAPPENED

• Russia has established a new organization whose main purpose is to set up a campaign aimed at discrediting Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy in Western European countries. The plan was exposed by Chief Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine.
• On September 7, the website https://zestiftung.com/ went live. It is designed as a fake website of a non-existent foundation allegedly established by President Zelenskyy.

• Russia’s plan is to register the foundation on Europe’s largest trading platforms. The website will be promoted similarly to multi-level marketing, which would facilitate the distribution of this content in the European information space.

WHY IS THE WEBSITE FAKE?

• There is no information about the website on any of the official resources of President Zelenskyy or his Office, nor has it been mentioned in any of their statements.
• The website contains a phrase “Unser Führer.” German native speakers never refer to leaders of countries this way. It is a rather obvious part of the narrative about “Nazi” Ukraine, which Russia has been trying to push for the past six months.
• The videos on the website have nothing to do with charity but are rather marketing plans (which is what they are actually called) with every possible indicator of a financial pyramid scheme.
• The section “Media über uns” (“Media about us”) contains a list of non-clickable “news items” with stories which look definitely untrue and look hastily written as placeholders.

WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES?

• If promoted widely, the website could be used to discredit the President of Ukraine and the entire idea of helping Ukraine.
• It would also play into Russian narratives of “futile” aid to Ukraine, of Ukraine “losing” Western aid, “Nazi” Ukraine, etc.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

• Trust only verified official channels.
• Engage in critical thinking and check sources of any information you encounter.
• Remember that with time, Russian information operations are becoming harder to spot and subtler, which means that we have to be vigilant.
• Share reliable information about Ukraine found on official channels, including the Centre for Strategic Communication.
• Avoid sharing information if you are unsure about its veracity or origin.

OFFICIAL CHANNELS OF THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE AND HIS OFFICE:

• Official website: https://www.president.gov.ua
• Facebook, Office of the President: https://www.facebook.com/president.gov.ua
• Twitter, Office: https://twitter.com/APUkraine
• Telegram, Office: https://t.me/OP_UA
• Instagram, Office: https://www.instagram.com/op_ukraine
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/PresidentGovUa
• Facebook, Volodymyr Zelenskyy: https://www.facebook.com/zelenskiy.official
• Twitter, Volodymyr Zelenskyy:  https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa
• Telegram, Volodymyr Zelenskyy: https://t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official
• Instagram, Zelenskyy: https://www.instagram.com/zelenskiy_official

Centre for Strategic Communication and Information Security