000 02574cam a2200229 4500500
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041 _afre
042 _adc
100 1 0 _aAudinet, Maxime
_eauthor
700 1 0 _a Gérard, Colin
_eauthor
245 0 0 _aUnder the radar
260 _c2024.
500 _a83
520 _aThe 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine and its repercussions have catalyzed profound shifts in Russia’s foreign policy. This article examines one such shift, focusing on the evolving actors and practices within Russia’s ecosystem of information influence. We define information influence in instrumental terms, as the range of practices leveraging information resources and technologies to shape the perceptions and behaviors of a target audience, with the aim of achieving outcomes aligned with the agent’s preferences, desires, or interests. As the conflict spilled over into the global information space, Russian transnational state media outlets RT and Sputnik faced bans and deplatformization in Western countries. These sanctions prompted them to fragment their digital infrastructure, adopt more covert broadcasting strategies, and target new audiences, notably in sub-Saharan Africa. Meanwhile, the Project Lakhta—one of the most sophisticated influence operations of the past decade—was partially dismantled and absorbed by Russian intelligence services and the Ministry of Defense. This transition followed the death in August 2023 of Lakhta’s sponsor, Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner Group and a key figure among Russia’s “entrepreneurs of influence.” This restructuring has been accompanied by an intensification of covert disinformation campaigns, now increasingly outsourced to various “influence contractors” operating under Russian authorities. The RRN/Doppelgänger operation, carried out by digital marketing firms contracted by the Presidential Administration, illustrated this growing trend in Russia’s information influence. This article explores how this multifaceted ecosystem has adapted following the dramatic escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which precipitated the most severe political and security crises of the post-Soviet era.
690 _aentrepreneurs of influence
690 _ainformation influence
690 _ainfluence contractors
690 _arussian foreign policy
690 _atransnational state media
786 0 _nRéseaux | o 245 | 3 | 2024-09-30 | p. 113-152 | 0751-7971
856 4 1 _uhttps://shs.cairn.info/journal-reseaux-2024-3-page-113?lang=en&redirect-ssocas=7080
999 _c549409
_d549409