Russia is hacking its way onto social media platform Bluesky to spread disinformation, company says
Source: The Independent
Thursday 21 May 2026 19:59 EDT
Russian hackers hijacked hundreds of online accounts on the Bluesky social media platform and used them to post phony news reports aimed at eroding public support for Ukraine amid Russia's ongoing, four-year war there.
As many as 2,000 posts have been removed by Bluesky since they began showing up in waves in April in an apparent escalation of Russian efforts to spread disinformation online, The New York Times said Thursday, citing the company and Clemson University researchers.
A director of Clemson's Media Forensics Hub told the newspaper that the Russians were “clearly still experimenting” after years of relying on fake accounts with fictitious content. "They're always experimenting," Darren Linvill said. The Clemson researchers and a group of internet monitors called the dTeam have linked the posts to the Social Design Agency, a company based in Moscow.
The Independent has reached out to Bluesky for comment, but the company told The Times it was an "industrywide problem," adding, "We dedicate significant resources toward detecting and disrupting coordinated inauthentic campaigns."
Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/tech/russia-hacking-disinformation-bluesky-social-media-b2981455.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
... someone said, somewhere.
Good job catching these trolls and bad guys BlueSky!
Kick in to the DU tip jar?
This week we're running a special pop-up mini fund drive. From Monday through Friday we're going ad-free for all registered members, and we're asking you to kick in to the DU tip jar to support the site and keep us financially healthy.
As a bonus, making a contribution will allow you to leave kudos for another DU member, and at the end of the week we'll recognize the DUers who you think make this community great.