Ukraine Security Service Warns of Russian Fake Websites
Kyiv says Moscow is creating fake online resources to spread disinformation and steal data.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Ukraine Security Service Warns of Russian Fake Websites
Photograph: Korrespondent.net (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Russian special services are actively creating fake online resources that impersonate Ukrainian state bodies and media, according to Ukraine's Security Service (SBU).
- The SBU has identified and blocked more than 50 such fake resources that copy the branding of Ukrainian government agencies.
- These fake sites are used by Russia for information and psychological operations, disinformation campaigns, and to extract personal data from Ukrainians.
- Stolen personal data is used for recruitment and to gather confidential information, with a particular interest in Ukraine's defence and security forces.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
60/100
Craft
65/100
Hype
20/100
6 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
Only 1 of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) has issued a warning about Russian special services creating fake online resources that impersonate Ukrainian state bodies and media. The SBU reported on September 28 that these fake pages are designed to mimic official branding and are used for information and psychological operations and disinformation campaigns. The aim is to destabilise the socio-political situation within Ukraine and harm its international standing.
In addition to spreading disinformation, Russian special services are using these fake resources to extract personal data from Ukrainians. The SBU stated that user accounts are often hacked when individuals subscribe to these fake social media pages and messenger channels. The stolen data is then used for recruitment operations and to gather confidential information, with a specific focus on details concerning Ukraine's defence and security forces.
Disagreement on number of blocked resources
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) stated that its Department of Cybersecurity identified and blocked over 50 resources that copied the branding of the SBU. The United24 report also stated that Ukraine's Security Service blocks 50+ fake resources. However, the Korrespondent.net report states that the SBU identified and blocked more than 50 resources that copied the branding of the SBU.
What the coverage left out
None of the centre-rated reports mentioned the SBU's warning about Russian special services creating fake online resources that impersonate Ukrainian state bodies and media. The left-rated and right-rated reports did not mention the specific date the SBU issued its warning, only that it was on September 28.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 2 times, most recently on 28 Sept 2026, 18:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
5 rated outlets
- Left-rated reports led on the SBU's warning about Russian special services creating fake websites and social media pages that impersonate Ukrainian state bodies and media. These reports highlighted that the fake resources are used for information and psychological operations, disinformation campaigns, and to destabilise Ukraine. They also noted that the fake sites are used to steal personal data for recruitment and to gather confidential information, particularly about defence and security forces. The left-rated reports mentioned the SBU identifying and blocking over 50 fake resources. The unn.ua report stated that citizens are urged to be vigilant. Detector.media reported that Russian special services have intensified their creation of fake sites. United24 reported that Ukraine's Security Service blocks 50+ fake resources used in Russian influence operations. Censor.net reported that Russia is creating fake pages for Ukrainian government bodies to recruit people and steal data.
Centre
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated centre has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Right
1 rated outlet
- The right-rated report led on the SBU's warning that the Russian Federation is creating mass fake pages of state bodies. It stated that the SBU identified and blocked more than 50 resources that copied the branding of the SBU. The report also mentioned that Russian special services use these fake resources to extract personal data from Ukrainians, hacking user accounts to steal personal data for recruitment operations and to gather confidential information, with particular interest in data about Ukraine's defence and security forces.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Ukraine Security Service Warns of Russian Fake Websites?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 83% are rated left, 0% are rated centre, 17% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Ukraine Security Service Warns of Russian Fake Websites left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Ukraine Security Service Warns of Russian Fake Websites biased?
- Ukraine Security Service Warns of Russian Fake Websites is one event reported by 6 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Ukraine Security Service Warns of Russian Fake Websites?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Ukraine Security Service Warns of Russian Fake Websites?
- 6 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What is the Security Service of Ukraine warning about?
- The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has warned that Russian special services are actively creating fake online resources that impersonate Ukrainian state bodies and media. These fake sites are used to spread disinformation and steal personal data.
- How many fake resources has the SBU identified?
- The SBU has identified and blocked over 50 fake resources that copy the branding of Ukrainian state bodies, including the SBU itself. These resources are used for information operations and to extract personal data.
- What is the purpose of the stolen personal data?
- The stolen personal data is used by Russian special services for recruitment operations and to gather confidential information. There is a particular interest in data concerning Ukraine's defence and security forces.
Read it at the source
6 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
5- SBU: Russian Special Services Have Intensified the Creation of Fake Websites of Ukrainian State Agencies and Media (opens detector.media in a new tab)
detector.media — is detector.media biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Ukraine’s Security Service Blocks 50+ Fake Resources Used in Russian Influence Operations (opens United24 in a new tab)
- Russia is creating fake pages of Ukrainian government bodies to recruit people and steal data, (opens censor.net in a new tab)
censor.net — is censor.net biased? Our profile of this outlet
- SBU warns Russia creating large number of fake pages impersonating Ukrainian govt agencies (opens Unknown in a new tab)
Unknown
- Russian Federation Actively Creates Fake Pages of State Bodies of Ukraine - Citizens Are Urged to Be Vigilant (opens unn.ua in a new tab)
Centre
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Right
1Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
