Videos circulating on X and Telegram in February have used Euronews’ graphics to spread false claims about Ukrainian refugees and athletes during the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
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For instance, one video, shared on X with more than 114,000 views, falsely claims that Ukrainian refugees robbed a Euronews crew at the Olympics.
Another incorrectly claims that a Ukrainian interpreter escaped and fled the Ukrainian delegation, becoming the “52nd” person to do so.
Some mix genuine Olympic events with fabricated allegations. For example, one video reports that Ukrainian fans committed vandalism in Milan after Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified over his plan to wear a helmet featuring images of athletes killed during Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Although Heraskevych was indeed disqualified, there have been no credible reports of Ukrainians vandalising cultural heritage sites in Milan during the Games.
The clips use Euronews graphics alongside stock images of the Olympic Games and include music or manipulated voiceovers.
The Cube, Euronews’ fact-checking team, found various examples of the videos shared on Telegram and X with thousands of views. Not a single one was produced by our newsroom.
Wider influence operation
According to analysis shared with The Cube by Antibot4Navalny, a research collective studying bot networks in Russia and beyond, the fake videos are part of a wider coordinated influence campaign that targeted Milan Cortina.
They say the videos show hallmarks of belonging to the “Matryoshka” operation, which researchers and analysts have linked to the Russian actors.
According to their findings, at least 35 videos impersonating media brands, research and government organisations have circulated connected to the Milan Games so far. They also documented fabricated magazine covers and manipulated social media posts linked to the same campaign.
One of the most widely circulated videos was a doctored version of a report belonging to Canadian broadcaster CBC News. The clip amassed more than a million views before the network confirmed it was fake and used an AI-voiceover based on the voice of a real reporter.
It falsely claims that Ukrainian athletes were separated from other athletes in the Olympic Village.
Other brands targeted include France’s TF1 Info, E!News, Eurostat and German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
It’s not the first time that Matryoshka disinformation has targeted the Olympics Games, as it launched a similar effort during the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Compared to that campaign, Antibot4Navalny says the Milan operation is smaller in scale. They recorded roughly 60 posts linked to Milan, compared to 190 posts linked to Paris.
While narratives during the Paris Games targeted a broad range of figures — including French President Emmanuel Macron and Olympic organisers — researchers say the Milan campaign appears more focused on Ukraine, such as Ukrainian athletes and refugees.
Some Milan videos also referenced alleged incidents during the Paris Olympics that were themselves fabricated.
