LA Wildfires: Graphika Assessment Of False Russian Narratives Cited By NPR

As wildfires have burned across Los Angeles and the world has watched first responders jump into action to save homes, Russian pro-Kremlin media and websites have been finding ways to fan the flames.

Graphika Senior Researcher Léa Ronzaud shared comments with NPR for a new article examining Russian efforts to use the tragedy to spread anti-Ukraine narratives, including that Ukrainian military officials’ homes worth tens of millions of dollars were among those that burned.

"It is the latest in a long string of assertions by Russian officials, media, and the pro-Kremlin online ecosystem that Ukrainian officials are corrupt and use foreign aid money to enrich themselves," Ronzaud told NPR.

Ronzaud also shared that the claims provide no real evidence, even as they suggest the officials purchased the properties through embezzled foreign aid or unspecified “corruption.”

Graphika’s platform delivers ongoing insights about evolving online threats and narratives like these through our Russia State Influence Feed. Subscribers find constant monitoring on the narratives advanced and tactics deployed by Russian state actors and the communities that engage with them, across a variety of social platforms and online sources.