Claim: Ukrainian strikes on data centres linked to Russian internet company Yandex disabled major Russian propaganda bot networks, supposedly demonstrated by falling activity among selected accounts.
Verdict: unsubstantiated. The attacks on Russian data-centre infrastructure are real. But that does not prove that changes in social-media activity were technically caused by those strikes.
What happened
After Ukrainian attacks on Russian digital infrastructure, charts and celebratory claims spread online suggesting that pro-Russian, right-wing or AfD-adjacent accounts had gone quiet. ZDFheute examined the viral evidence.
The central problem is causality. Even if a group of accounts posts less after an attack, timing alone does not establish a technical link to Yandex. Bots may run on other infrastructure, accounts may pause, platforms may suspend them, and datasets can be distorted by account selection.
What real proof would require
A robust case would need technical indicators: hosting data, network routes, command-and-control infrastructure, logs or reproducible forensic analysis. An activity chart is not enough. The term “bot” is also frequently used too loosely, conflating automated accounts, coordinated human networks and ordinary political users.
Why the story travels
It offers a satisfying causal chain: data centre hit, propaganda disappears. In an information war, such simple success stories are attractive. Supporting Ukraine does not remove the need for evidence. Critics of Russian disinformation should apply the same verification standards to claims that favour their own side.
Conclusion: attacks on Russian digital infrastructure are documented. Public evidence does not establish that they disabled the specific propaganda accounts highlighted in viral posts.
Quellen
Redaktioneller Hinweis: Updated 16 October 2026, 08:00 CEST.