Lead review
Suspicious score 75/100 · domain cluster · 6 accounts · 26 posts
View in 3D: where it comes from and what it is linked to
In a contested story: Analysis of US-Ukraine NATO-for-Donbas Story. This cluster pushes: Zelensky ready to put referendum on withdrawing AFU.
In a contested story: US urges Ukraine to withdraw troops from Russian territories. This cluster pushes: Mentions Zelensky ready to put a referendum on withdrawing AFU; shares RT domain..
In a contested story: France protests on 14 November: turnout, arrests and police response. This cluster pushes: RT/state-media version: clashes in several French cities, tens of thousands at rallies, tear gas in Bordeaux, projectiles at police in Marseille; shares russian.rt.com..
First seen Sat 14 Nov 15:25 UTC, last Sat 14 Nov 16:18 UTC. Languages: en 17ru 4 Linked: russian.rt.com 26russiatoday.ru 17t.me 5
Coordinated activity that touches documented propaganda infrastructure.
This is a lead for a human reviewer, not an accusation. Signals are measured; thresholds are starting values evaluated on the metrics page.
Account profiles fetched: 100%.
Nemotron investigation
Insufficient evidence confidence low · recommended: monitor
Six accounts, mostly bridged from Mastodon, link to russian.rt.com across 26 posts in Russian and English. The content amplifies RT output: newsletter promotion, a claim that Ukraine received $20 billion annually from criminal call centres and that Zelensky would hold a referendum on withdrawing Ukrainian forces from Donbas, a claimed Kremlin announcement of a Putin–Xi–Trump summit in Shenzhen on 19 November, protests and clashes in France over prices and the budget, and Italy's $887 million fine of Meta over Android data access. The unifying feature is redistribution of Russian state-media output, including Ukraine-related and anti-Western-protest framing.
Narrative: The cluster pushes RT (russian.rt.com) stories in Russian and English: (1) RT newsletter subscription; (2) a claim that Ukraine annually received $20 billion in income from criminal call centres, with Zelensky ready to put withdrawal of Ukrainian armed forces from Donbas to a referendum; (3) a claimed three-way Putin–Xi–Trump meeting in Shenzhen on 19 November per Peskov; (4) protests in France with clashes between protesters and police, anger over prices and criticism of the budget; (5) Italy fining Meta $887 million over Android users' data access. The common thread is amplification of Russian state media (RT) stories, including Ukraine-related and anti-Western protest content.
Strongest innocent explanation considered: Independent RT readers and subscribers (some bridged from Mastodon) sharing RT articles they encountered, plus RT's own Telegram channels posting their usual output. The accounts are mostly Mastodon bridges rather than native Bluesky users, which can look automated without being a coordinated network.
- S:repetition = 4.33, above the 2.0 threshold — each account posted about 4.3 times on average in a short window (measurements).
- S:new_accounts = 50% (at threshold) and S:low_reach = 75% (above the 60% threshold) — half the accounts are new and three-quarters have under 10 followers (measurements).
- S:listed_servers = 67%, above the 30% threshold — most accounts are bridged from Mastodon servers on IFTAS's list (measurements).
- P4 (A4, Telegram rt_russian) and P5 (A5, Telegram rusputnikmd) carry near-identical French-protest text, suggesting the same material is pushed through multiple channels/accounts (posts).
- P1 (A1) and P3 (A3) both carry RT subscription promos with similar framing ("🟩 Подписаться | Рассылка | Сайт RT") (posts).
Manipulation techniques
| Technique | Exact words | Why | Post |
|---|---|---|---|
| loaded_language | “силовики бьют людей дубинками” | Describes French police as "силовики" (security forces) who "бьют людей дубинками" (beat people with batons), framing police as aggressors. | P4 |
| loaded_language | “доходов преступных кол-центров” | Calls call-centre income "доходов преступных кол-центров" (income of criminal call centres) without attribution. | P1 |
| loaded_language | “* Запрещены в РФ” | Frames the Meta fine with "* Запрещены в РФ" (* banned in the RF), importing a Russian regulatory designation into an EU competition story. | P6 |
| fabricated_authority | “сообщил Песков” | Attributes the Shenzhen summit to "сообщил Песков" (Peskov said) via an RT subscription promo, presenting RT as the channel for an official Kremlin claim without linking to the Kremlin source. | P3 |
Sources
| Domain | Trust | Why |
|---|---|---|
| russian.rt.com | low | Domain rt.com registered 1991-09-23 via Regional Network Information Center, JSC dba RU-CENTER (W1). Page identifies publisher as ANO «ТВ-Новости», editor-in-chief Simonyan M.S., registered with Roskomnadzor — Russian state-affiliated media (W1). S:known_domains = 0 — rt.com is not on the VIGINUM/CheckFirst propaganda lists used by this tool (measurements). Pages do not hide their origin; they carry RT branding throughout (W1, W2). |
| t.me | low | W3 is a Telegram group/invite for "RT на русском" with 973,806 subscribers, listing a feedback bot, a mirror, and an RKN registry link — an official RT channel (W3). |
Images and video
Images are blurred: click one to show it. They load from the platform's own servers.
- I1 Screenshot of a Reuters article, "Italy fines Meta $887 million over Android users' data access," dated November 14, 2026, showing a Meta sign (I1). It supports the text of P6, which reports the same fine (P6, I1).
Independent news check
| Claim | Finding | Why | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy fined Meta $887 million over Android users' data access | real event distorted | Corroborated. Reuters (N1, 2026-11-14 13:08), Jerusalem Post (N2), CNBC (N3), Bloomberg (N6, €805 million), and others report the same event — multiple independent outlets in different countries tell the same story (Q1; distinct_outlets = 8, none on propaganda lists). I1 is literally a Reuters screenshot of this story. | Q1N1N2N3N6N7 |
| Protests and clashes in France (Bordeaux, Marseille, Paris) over prices and the budget | real event distorted | Partially corroborated. Independent outlets report a protest wave in France in early-mid November 2026 — a 1.6-million-worker general strike (N9, N10), Yellow Vest and student protests (N11), deployment of 70,000 officers (N12) — but none confirm the specific clashes RT describes (tear gas in Bordeaux, trash thrown at police in Marseille, baton charges in Paris) on the dates given. Independent outlets report the broader event category; the specific RT claims are unverified by these results (Q2; distinct_outlets = 4, none on propaganda lists). | Q2N9N10N11N12 |
| Putin–Xi–Trump summit in Shenzhen on 19 November per Peskov | real event distorted | Corroborated as a Kremlin announcement. Anadolu (Turkey, N13), Kurdistan24 (N14), Report.az and Apa.az (Azerbaijan, N17, N18), Trend.az (N20), Il Sole 24 Ore (Italy, N19), RBC-Ukraine (N16), and Pravda.com.ua (Ukraine, N15) all report the Kremlin confirming the meeting — distinct outlets in different countries tell the same story (Q3; distinct_outlets = 8, none on propaganda lists). This corroborates that the Kremlin made the claim; it does not independently verify the meeting will occur. | Q3N13N14N15N16N17N18 |
- Q1 searched “Italy fines Meta 887 million Android data access” (en):
8 articles
- N1 Reuters: Italy fines Meta $887 million over Android users' data access (2026-11-14)
- N2 The Jerusalem Post: Italy fines Meta $887 million over Android users' data access (2026-11-14)
- N3 CNBC: Italy fines Meta $887 million over Android users' data access (2026-11-14)
- N4 Investing.com: Italy fines Meta $887 million over Android users’ data access By Reuters (2026-11-14)
- N5 The Lufkin Daily News: Italy fines Meta $887 million over Android users' data access (2026-11-14)
- N6 Bloomberg.com: Italy Fines Meta €805 Million Over Access to Users’ Photos (2026-11-14)
- N7 shattered.io: Italy Fines Meta $887M Over Android Photo Access (2026-11-14)
- N8 TradingView: Italy fines Meta $887 million over Android users' data access (2026-11-14)
- Q2 searched “France protests Bordeaux Marseille Paris tear gas budget” (en):
4 articles
- N9 Monthly Review: 1.6 million join general strike in France against austerity (2026-11-09)
- N10 Socialist Party: France: Movement takes step forward as 1.6 million workers strike (2026-11-11)
- N11 Yahoo News UK: France sees new round of Yellow Vest, student protests (2026-11-07)
- N12 Demokratis.co.id: France Deploys 70000 Officers as Protests Spread Across Europe (2026-11-08)
- Q3 searched “Putin Xi Trump Shenzhen November 19 Peskov” (en):
8 articles
- N13 Anadolu Ajansı: Kremlin says Putin, Xi, Trump to hold trilateral meeting in Shenzhen on Nov. 19 (2026-11-14)
- N14 Kurdistan24: Kremlin: Putin, Trump And Xi To Meet On November 19 (2026-11-14)
- N15 Українська правда: Kremlin confirms date of Trump, Xi and Putin meeting (2026-11-14)
- N16 RBC-Ukraine: Trump, Putin and Xi summit - Kremlin reveals when leaders will meet (2026-11-14)
- N17 Report.az: Putin, Xi and Trump to meet in Shenzhen on November 19, Kremlin says (2026-11-14)
- N18 Apa.az: Kremlin confirms Putin, Xi Jinping and Trump to hold trilateral meeting in China on November 19 (2026-11-14)
- N19 Il Sole 24 ORE: Ukraine war, latest news. Kyiv media: Moscow has lifted its veto on the physical elimination of Zelensky (2026-11-14)
- N20 Trend News Agency: Date set for Xi Jinping, Putin and Trump meeting (2026-11-14)
Evidence-backed claims
- Italy fined Meta $887 million over Android users' data access P6I1Q1N1N2N3N6N7
- Protests and clashes in France (Bordeaux, Marseille, Paris) over prices and the budget P4P5W2Q2N9N10N11N12
- Putin–Xi–Trump summit in Shenzhen on 19 November per Peskov P3Q3N13N14N15N16N17N18
- Ukraine annually received $20 billion from criminal call centres; Zelensky ready to hold referendum on withdrawing Ukrainian forces from Donbas P1
nvidia/nemotron-3.5-super-vl-120b-a12b, prompt v6, Sat 17:16 UTC, 3 model calls, 95.1 s · 86% of its references checked against the evidence. Evidence ids: P post, A account, I image, V video, W web page, Q news search, N news article, S FactsLens signal.
Activity per minute
54 minutes, peak 2 posts in one minute.
Signals
| Category | Signal | Value | Threshold | Fired | What it means here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| coordination | copy_paste | 20% | ≥ 50% | no | 20% of posts repeat near-identical text from another account. |
| coordination | synchrony | 12% | ≥ 50% | no | 12% of the activity happened within a single minute. |
| coordination | repetition | 4.33 | ≥ 2.0 | yes | Each account posted this 4.3 times on average. |
| coordination | cross_cluster | 17% | ≥ 50% | no | 17% of the accounts also appear in at least two other flagged clusters (24 h). |
| account | removed_accounts | 0% | ≥ 20% | no | 0% of the accounts are no longer served by Bluesky (suspended or deleted). |
| account | new_accounts | 50% | ≥ 50% | yes | 50% of the accounts were created in the last 30 days. |
| account | creation_burst | 25% | ≥ 40% | no | 25% of the accounts were created within the same 72 hours. |
| account | low_reach | 75% | ≥ 60% | yes | 75% of the accounts have fewer than 10 followers. |
| account | empty_profiles | 25% | ≥ 50% | no | 25% of the accounts have no profile picture or no bio. |
| account | template_bios | 0% | ≥ 30% | no | 0% of the accounts have a bio that near-duplicates another account's bio. |
| provenance | known_accounts | 0 | ≥ 1 | no | 0 account(s) are on IFTAS's public list of suspected Portal Kombat accounts. |
| provenance | listed_servers | 67% | ≥ 30% | yes | 67% of the accounts are bridged from Mastodon servers on IFTAS's list. |
| provenance | known_domains | 0 | ≥ 1 | no | Links to 0 domain(s) on VIGINUM/CheckFirst propaganda lists. |
| provenance | pravda_sources | 2 | ≥ 1 | yes | Links to 2 Telegram channel(s) that Pravda sites republish: rt_russian, rusputnikmd (a lead, not proof). |
| disclosure | declared_automation | 0% | ≥ 50% | no | 0% of the accounts say in their profile that they are bots or automated feeds. |
| provenance | telegram_first | -14.9 | ≥ 0.0 | no | Watched Telegram channels (rt_russian, rusputnikmd) posted the same content, not earlier than Bluesky. |
Accounts (6)
Median account age: 31 days. Names are shown only for accounts on IFTAS's public list or already removed by Bluesky; reviewers see all.
| Account | Age (days) | Followers | Follows | Posts here | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| account 1 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 1 | active |
| account 2 | 1598 | 2295 | 6 | 17 | active |
| account 3 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 2 | active |
| t.me/rt_russian Telegram channel | – | – | – | 4 | public channel |
| t.me/rusputnikmd Telegram channel | – | – | – | 1 | public channel |
| account 6 bridged from Mastodon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | active |
Sample posts from already-public cases
| Time (UTC) | Account | Text |
|---|---|---|
| 15:37:04 | telegram:rt_russian | Стычки между протестующими и полицией происходят в ряде городов Франции.
Десятки тысяч людей вышли на митинги, пишут местные СМИ. Улицы Бордо затянуло слезоточивым газом, в Марселе забрасывают полицию мусором, в Париже силовики бьют людей дубинками.
Французы недовольны ростом цен, они критикуют бю open
video |
| 15:47:51 | telegram:rusputnikmd | Стычки между протестующими и полицией происходят в ряде городов Франции.
Десятки тысяч людей вышли на митинги, пишут местные СМИ. Улицы Бордо затянуло слезоточивым газом, в Марселе забрасывают полицию мусором, в Париже силовики бьют людей дубинками.
Французы недовольны ростом цен, они критикуют бю open
video |
Human review
No human decision yet.
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