Social media has failed to stop Russia’s “large-scale” disinformation campaigns since the invasion of Ukraine. This is reported by BBC with reference to the European Commission report.

“Over the course of 2022, the audience and reach of Kremlin-aligned social media accounts increased substantially all over Europe,” the study found.

At the same time, the authors of the document point out that “the reach and influence of Kremlin-backed accounts” increased even more in 2023.

For example, Russian disinformation intensified on X, the former Twitter, after Elon Musk bought the company last fall.

The study examines attempts to combat Kremlin-backed disinformation and suggests that this growth has been “driven in part by the erosion of Twitter’s security standards.”

“In absolute numbers, pro-Kremlin accounts continue to reach the largest audiences on Meta’s platforms. Meanwhile, the audience size for Kremlin-backed accounts more than tripled on Telegram,” the report found.

In August, stricter rules were introduced for the world’s largest online platforms under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA). All major social media companies must comply with the stricter DSA rules, which require a more serious approach to content control, including disinformation and hate speech.