Latest news with #influenceCampaign
Russia Today
5 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Moscow accuses British NGO of subversive activities in universities
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has accused the UK-based Oxford Russia Fund of conducting a covert influence campaign in Russian universities aimed at undermining national security. The organization had already been declared 'undesirable' by Moscow, a designation that prohibits its activities and implies involvement in hostile propaganda efforts. The Oxford Russia Fund began operating in Russia in 2006 with the stated aim of supporting higher education in the humanities and social sciences. While it claimed to provide scholarships and academic resources, its work raised red flags for the authorities. In 2021, the Prosecutor General's Office banned the organization, citing threats to national sovereignty. According to the FSB, it nonetheless continued to operate subversively, maintaining covert ties with university staff and facilitating the spread of foreign narratives. In a statement issued on Thursday, the FSB said faculty members in the regions of Volgograd, Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk, and Tomsk worked with the banned organization to distribute materials promoting 'support for sexual minorities and LGBT values' – content considered incompatible with traditional Russian values. The NGO also allegedly collected sensitive data about the country's internal political and socioeconomic situation amid the Ukraine conflict. Fifteen Russian nationals have received official warnings under criminal statutes related to collaboration with foreign entities deemed a threat to national security. One professor has already been fined for involvement with a banned group. The FSB and Prosecutor's Office also issued a formal warning to one of the universities involved. The FSB claimed that British intelligence services have long targeted Russian academia as a channel for ideological influence. 'They seek to raise a 'new generation' of Russian citizens in a manner beneficial to London,' the statement said. Over the past decade, Russia has introduced stricter laws to shield society from LGBT propaganda. In 2013, LGBT content was banned for minors, and by 2022, the ban extended to all audiences. In 2023, the 'international LGBT movement' was designated as a terrorist organization. In its statement, the FSB announced that the British Council, the UK's primary cultural outreach institution, has also been declared 'undesirable'. The authorities accuse the NGO of serving as a vehicle for British intelligence, using cultural programming as cover to destabilize sovereign states. The UK has taken an increasingly hostile posture toward Russia, imposing sweeping sanctions while continuing to provide military support to Ukraine, despite the ongoing peace talks mediated by the US. Russia's ambassador in London, Andrey Kelin, recently denounced Britain's behavior as 'belligerent and irresponsible,' calling its support for Ukraine 'senseless' and 'reckless.'
South China Morning Post
07-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Calls for sanctions as Philippine probe accuses Chinese embassy of influence campaign
A Philippine Senate probe has accused the Chinese embassy in Manila of funding a covert online influence campaign aimed at discrediting the country's military and critics of Beijing ahead of midterm elections – prompting calls for diplomatic sanctions and potential criminal prosecution. Advertisement If the allegations prove to be true, the operation – said to involve hundreds of fake social media accounts – could lead to the expulsion of embassy personnel and legal action under a rarely invoked 84-year-old law targeting subversive acts during peacetime, analysts have warned. The Chinese embassy and its local partner, Infinitus Marketing Solutions, have strongly denied the accusations. In a Senate hearing on Monday, however, the company's CEO confirmed receiving funds from the embassy, while maintaining there was no connection to a disinformation campaign. Paul Li, the Chinese national who heads Infinitus, told lawmakers a cheque of 930,000 pesos (US$16,780) from the embassy – presented as evidence they had been hired to operate the disinformation campaign during a previous hearing – was in fact payment for organising a June 2023 event attended by President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr. Li confirmed 'we are the PR company for the Chinese embassy' during his testimony before the Senate's Special Committee on Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zones, chaired by Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino. Advertisement However, he denied the claims that his firm managed a network of 330 fictitious accounts on Facebook and X allegedly used to manipulate public sentiment.
