General Staff alleges coordinated online campaign against army chief Drapatyi
Photo: Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi (facebook.com/zelenskyy.official)
The scale of the fake reports points to a coordinated information operation targeting Ukraine's new Commander-in-Chief, Mykhailo Drapatyi, according to a statement by General Staff spokesperson Dmytro Lykhovii.
Information operation targeting Drapatyi
Lykhovii said that in the first days of the new commander-in-chief's tenure, he noticed on social media:
- A buildup of fake plans and promises,
- Attempts to lavish praise on him only to later smear him and accuse him of making empty promises.
According to the spokesperson, a fake Twitter account impersonating Mykhailo Drapatyi was blocked yesterday with the help of Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation.
But today a new wave emerged:
- Fake pseudo-Drapatyi accounts appeared on Threads,
- Hype continues to spread on Facebook.
Lykhovii said military experts are amplifying from bot accounts an AI-generated story about a fictional public dispute between the new and former commanders-in-chief.
"A fabricated story is already taking on a life of its own, claiming that Drapatyi announced some kind of audit in the Armed Forces. It is also being claimed that he used his own money to establish a charity fund for wounded soldiers and sent Territorial Center of Recruitment and Social Support (TTsK) personnel to the front line," the General Staff spokesperson said.
General Staff urges vigilance
Lykhovii denied reports about an audit of the TTsK, noting that assuming command and getting up to speed on military affairs does not work that way.
"The stories about the fund, the dispute, and the TTsK are also false. Drapatyi is not on Threads, and he has no plans to create additional social media accounts," the General Staff officer said.
He concluded that, given the scale of the fake reports, the campaign strongly resembles a deliberate information operation targeting the new commander-in-chief.
"It is unfolding alongside absurd accusations of 'racism' based on a perfectly reasonable anti-Russian interview from 2023," he added.
Lykhovii also addressed journalists and social media users.
"Before smothering someone with praise and sharing AI-generated texts and images, think about whether the account is genuine, whether the information is accurate, and what goal the author is pursuing," the General Staff spokesperson said.
Fake reports about Drapatyi
On July 26, a message allegedly posted by Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapatyi appeared online, claiming that an audit of the military had begun. The information turned out to be false.
On July 27, Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported an increase in information attacks. The agency also denied claims about an alleged change in its leadership.
