In the context of the scandal surrounding the Voice of Europe website, which was accused of promoting Russian propaganda in Europe, we became interested in studying the twin websites in more detail. We remind you that we conducted an overall analysis of websites that publish pro-Russian narratives in Europe in March.
So, we are focusing on news outlets in Germany whose publications would appeal to Putin’s regime and contribute to Moscow’s narratives, particularly regarding its war against Ukraine. To start with anonymousnews.org.
Russian narratives on Anonymous News
If you haven’t read or watched Voice of Europe or Russia Today in German, you can find similar information on Anonymous News. The website uses the well-known Anonymous brand to gain trust. We have studied this resource more thoroughly. Let us explain the specifics of its “editorial policy.”
In a sample of 50 articles published within one week, this German news site devotes 20% to Ukraine, Russia, or the Russian war. Another 20% consists of conspiracy theories and conspiracy stories. Another 25% of the articles criticize the German government. At the same time, the publication clearly promotes politicians from the far-right AfD party and the party itself, in particular during the European Parliament election campaign.
Repeating the Kremlin’s theses, Anonymous News presents Russia’s war against Ukraine as Russia’s war against the West. As one article states, “Can Russia and the USA resolve the conflict over Ukraine without triggering a nuclear crisis?”
Thus, this is clear disinformation that contradicts reality. There are two sides in the war: Russia, which has invaded the territory of sovereign Ukraine, and Ukraine, which is defending itself against Russia’s military aggression.
Western countries are assisting Ukraine in its defensive war by providing weapons and military training. At the same time, Moscow receives assistance from a number of friendly countries to circumvent sanctions and obtain components for weapons production. Other allies, such as the DPRK and Iran, directly supply Russia with missiles or attack drones.
Link to the article: https://www.anonymousnews.org/international/fuer-die-ukraine-ist-der-krieg-verloren-wie-geht-es-weiter/
The website also publishes articles supporting the activities of far-right AfD politicians Petr Bystron and Maximilian Krah, who are involved in the Voice of Europe scandal over the dissemination of pro-Russian narratives.
On this topic, the author Johann Leonhard spreads pro-Russian news and pro-Russian media on the social network X: https://twitter.com/johannleonhard.
We quote a manipulative headline that makes everything clear: “Bystron case: “They want to silence us.””. Link to the article: https://www.anonymousnews.org/deutschland/fall-bystron-sie-wollen-uns-zum-schweigen-bringen/
The website’s authors pay special attention to the European Parliament elections. At the same time, they actively promote far-right and pro-Russian politicians. In fact, the Voice of Europe platform was accused of this. And how can we not mention Russia’s accusations of trying to influence Europeans’ will, as well as Moscow’s interference in the US elections?
To show you how (in)dependent this publication is, here are some more excerpts from their articles that are in line with Russian propaganda and they defend the pro-Russian MPs involved in the Voice of Europe case. Quotations:
“A Europe-wide campaign is being rolled out to defame patriotic politicians from six countries as agents of Russia in the run-up to the EU elections. In Germany, the AfD’s leading candidates, Petr Bystron and Maximilian Krah, are the focus of the defamation.”
“Last week, the first suspicions were reported in the German press. The German press accused Krah and Bystron, the two leading candidates for the upcoming European elections, and other conservative EU politicians of pocketing money from the Kremlin. According to reports, the Czech secret service exposed Voice of Europe, a medium with editorial offices in Prague, as a Russian propaganda organ. “Hundreds of thousands of euros” are said to have flowed from Russia and been used for “pro-Russian propaganda,” writes Spiegel of all publications, which has received more than four million US dollars from the Bill Gates Foundation in recent years. For independent reporting, of course.”
“What the accusers are after: media that speak out against the war in Ukraine are to be silenced.”
As you can see, with this approach, this site cannot be considered independent, and it is hardly a media resource. It is rather a pro-Moscow propaganda resource. The hypocrisy of Anonymous News’ disinformation crosses all red lines when, in its article, the publication accuses Ukraine of a terrorist attack in Russia, repeating unfounded fakes from Russian propagandists.
The title of the article is “Terror in Moscow: the responsibility lies with Ukraine, not ISIS.”
Andrey Korybko, the author, used to work for the Russian state propaganda platform Sputnik News, now works as a political analyst and journalist, and is a member of the Russian Expert Council of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts.
We quote: “Given the GUR’s history of terrorism and its links to radical Islamic groups, this shows that Kiev has the capabilities and the intention to carry out a terrorist attack like the one on the Crocus concert hall. It also shows that the GUR has the necessary knowledge and resources to pose as a terrorist group online and is willing to recruit attackers online. Taken together, this puts the GUR at the top of the list of suspects behind the terrorist attack in Moscow.”
Link to the article: https://www.anonymousnews.org/meinung/moskau-terror-verantwortlich-ist-die-ukraine-und-nicht-isis/
Martin Jay, a pro-Russian journalist who also contributes to Politics Today, presents another example of disinformation in his article “Macron: Ukraine lost to a loser president”: https://politicstoday.org/author/martin-jay/.
Quote: “But even any minor geopolitical scribbler who knows Putin halfway knows that this won’t stop him, since the elimination of Western troops—or, better yet, the capture of a certain number of those troops—will mean the end of Western intervention.”
Link to the article: https://www.anonymousnews.org/international/macron-die-ukraine-kapriolen-eines-gescheiterten-praesidenten/.
Another author, pro-Russian journalist Gert Ewen Ungar, spreads the Kremlin’s narrative of Russia’s victory.
Article title: “The New NATO Narrative: Ukraine Wins Because It Loses.” Quote: “The West is also looking for a face-saving exit scenario for Ukraine. Ukraine should freeze the conflict and cede territories. In return, the West will declare Ukraine the winner. This communication strategy is being pushed.”
“Behind the scenes, the USA is also pushing for Ukraine to declare itself the winner and bring about a ceasefire. In exchange for the face-saving narrative that it is the real winner of the conflict, the USA plans to freeze the conflict and force Ukraine to cede territory.”
Link to the article: https://www.anonymousnews.org/international/neues-nato-narrativ-ukraine-ist-sieger-weil-sie-verliert/
Thomas Palley, the author, propagates another Russian propaganda narrative, asserting that the United States controls the governments of the EU and Ukraine. This is traditional Russian disinformation and demonization of the United States, which is germinating well on the left-wing and right-wing radical ground in Europe, and in particular in Germany. To quote.
“Europe’s foreign policy has been hijacked by the US; the consequences are fatal. US neoconservative interests have hijacked and manipulated European foreign policy. This capture poses a serious threat to both European democracy and global security.”
“Like enlargement, the transformation of NATO is easy to understand from the neoconservative perspective. The US is pursuing a global hegemonic goal, and the transformation of NATO meant that other countries had to share in this burden. It also provided the US with multilateral protection. However, Europe, lacking a similar agenda, did not reap any benefits. In summary, the expansion and transformation of NATO strongly suggest hacking.”
Link to the article: https://www.anonymousnews.org/hintergruende/europas-aussenpolitik-wurde-von-den-usa-gekapert-die-folgen-sind-fatal/
This German website also publishes articles by Russian journalist Kristina Sizon. The biased and openly propagandistic headline speaks for itself: “Zelensky’s cannon fodder: mercenaries in Ukraine.” We quote from the article:
“Moscow now claims that, due to mobilization problems within Ukraine and after significant losses on the front lines, Kiev has begun actively recruiting fighters from Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, particularly from Argentina, Brazil, Afghanistan, Iraq, and areas in Syria controlled by the US.”
Link to the article: https://www.anonymousnews.org/international/als-soldner-in-der-ukraine/
Andrei Kots, another Russian pseudo-journalist and military correspondent, spreads his propaganda on this site. The title of his article, “Signs of disintegration: when will Kyiv fall?” repeats Moscow’s narratives and Putin’s wishful thinking.
Link to the article: https://www.anonymousnews.org/international/aufloesungserscheinungen-wann-faellt-kiew/
Based on this brief analysis, the Anonymous News website looks like a propaganda outlet for the Kremlin and cannot be considered an independent media outlet. This website is remarkably similar in content to Russia Today (RT) and Voice of Europe.
Publishing articles by Russian propagandists and military bloggers, promoting far-right, anti-European, and pro-Russian politicians, and promoting narratives that benefit the Kremlin may be part of an operation to sway public opinion in Europe and influence the results of the European Parliament elections.
