Alerts | Hacking/DDoS attack

Spoof Gazeta Wyborcza created to spread disinformation about Bucha massacre in Ukraine

Date:
Number of cases:
Regions/Countries:
Alert types:

Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza reported that unidentified individuals had created a fake website bearing its name to spread disinformation about the massacre of civilians by Russian troops in the Ukrainian city of Bucha. The newspaper said it had been alerted to the spoof website by a local government official from Pomerania. The fake website had a slight change in the Wyborcza.pl website address. The newspaper said the spoof was a form of typosquatting, also called URL hijacking – a scam that targets internet users who incorrectly type a website address into their web browser. It added that the author of the fake report disputed evidence of Russian crimes in Bucha, falsely claiming that it was instead staged by Ukrainian forces to justify the imposition of further sanctions on Russia. “The counterfeit of the Wyborcza.pl homepage is part of the massive action of Russian trolls who, pretending to be the media, spread lies about the war in Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees”, the newspaper said. It condemned the attempt to spread disinformation through its branding.

Become a member

IPI membership is open to anyone active in the field of journalism, in news media outlets, as freelancers, in schools of journalism or in defence of press freedom rights, who supports the principle of freedom of the press and desires to co-operate in achieving IPI’s objectives.

Become a member

Latest