This article is the second in a series analyzing the set of Facebook pages targeting Ukraine removed in its July 25 takedown. Our previous research on the takedown analyzed five pages amplified divisive content related to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution, and other pro-Kremlin messaging.

After receiving the name of a page from Facebook ahead of a takedown, the DFRLab uncovered a number fictitious or pseudonymous personas — and one apparently real journalist — all connected to anti-Ukraine content on a series of external websites.

As part of a takedown of pages engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior, Facebook removed 83 Facebook accounts, two pages, 29 groups, and five Instagram accounts focused on Ukraine, with particular interest in the Luhansk region of the country. Luhansk, along with the Donetsk region, has been the site of a prolonged conflict between the Ukrainian military and separatist forces backed by Russia since 2014.

In its announcement, Facebook stated:

The people behind this activity used fake accounts to impersonate military members in Ukraine, manage Groups posing as authentic military communities, and also to drive people to off-platform sites. They also operated Groups — some of which shifted focus from one political side to another over time — disseminating content about Ukraine and the Luhansk region.

Facebook shared the name for one of the pages –Александр Викторович (“Aleksander Viktorovich”) — with the DFRLab prior to removing it. In analyzing this page, the DFRLab uncovered five to six external websites and multiple personas that published recycled posts from one another and from other outlets, echoing pro-Kremlin narratives on Ukraine. There was limited to no evidence of direct coordination between the websites or the personas, though the overlap of content between them was extremely high.

Despite these efforts, the Facebook posts accumulated virtually no interactions.

The “Aleksander Viktorovich”/“Max Max” Persona

The Aleksander Viktorovich Facebook page, which had 928 likes and 926 followers, was created on March 9, 2018.