In addition to sowing doubt, this approach pays off when some narratives break through. 'The main idea is to inflate the information space with multiple false theories and denials of what actually happened in order to make people disinterested, or just be too puzzled,' he said. The point is not that people will believe every one of these narratives, or even be fully convinced by any single claim, said Roman Osadchuk, a DFRLab research associate. Since last February's invasion, Russian-linked influence operations on social media have 'used a throw-the-spaghetti-at-the-wall-to-see-what-sticks kind of approach,' said Nathaniel Gleicher, head of security policy at Facebook parent Meta. They've spread rumors Ukraine is selling western-provided weapons for a profit on the dark web. They've denied documented atrocities by Russian soldiers against civilians in Bucha and claimed the bombing of a maternity hospital in Mariupol was faked, using actors. Russian media and Kremlin-linked campaigns depict Ukraine's government as rife with Satanists and terrorists.

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