The United Kingdom and Canada have imposed sanctions on several Russian companies and individuals involved in the destabilization of Ukraine.
The UK government has imposed sanctions on companies that are responsible for an extensive malicious online network known as Doppelganger, which uses deep fake technology to distribute fake messages, forged documents, and materials in English, German, and French through a complex online network.
These entities and individuals have been added to the UK sanctions list:
- PR agency Social Design Agency (SDA)
- PR agency Structura National Technologies
- PR agency ANO DIALOG
- Ilya Andreevich GAMBASHIDZE, the founder of SDA
- Nikolay Aleksandrovich TUPIKIN, the CEO of SDA and owner of Structura
- Andrey Naumovich PERLA, SDA Project Director
The UK government clarified that SDA has created a network of at least 120 websites that spoof existing news and government websites.
Sanctions against SDA and Structura have also been supported by the government of Canada.
The Doppelganger network spams the online space with unreliable messages, falsified documents, and deepfakes. Canada and Canadian social and political issues have also been featured in the content of secret media, and Canadians are being influenced by Russian disinformation, according to the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
