Russia Plans Major Disinformation Offensive Targeting AI and Wikipedia

Leaked Documents from Russia's Social Design Agency

According to НВ — Техно: Bloomberg has reported on a leak of documents from Russia's Social Design Agency (SDA), revealing a plan called 'Project 2026.' This initiative aims to build a parallel information ecosystem, manipulate search engines and AI chatbots, and spread false narratives through cloned Wikipedia-style sites and a proprietary encyclopedia called 'Ruviki.' The files outline specific campaigns, target audiences, and systems for measuring disinformation effectiveness.

The leaked materials confirm that the SDA intended to create a reference website for Armenia, copying Wikipedia's format and filling it with pro-Russian content. Dated April 14, the document set a launch date before Armenia's June 7 elections. Bloomberg identified three 'wiki'-style sites focused on Armenia, created in January and later shut down by their hosting provider. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who secured a decisive election victory, had no role in this process. An assessment projected the clone site could attract up to 5,000 daily visits within its first three months.

Key Figures and Information Campaigns

A central figure in the documents is Sofia Zakharova, an official in the Kremlin's information and communications department, who was sanctioned by the European Union in 2024. In internal chats, she is referred to as Kristin Keeler. As part of 'Project 2026,' Russia is also advancing its own Wikipedia alternative-the online encyclopedia 'Ruviki,' launched in 2023. This platform copies Wikipedia content and expands into other languages used within Russia. In Ruviki, the 2022 mass killing of civilians in Bucha is labeled a 'provocation,' and references to Yevgeny Prigozhin's recruitment of prisoners for the war in Ukraine have been removed.

Additionally, in September 2025, a fabricated story about Volodymyr Zelenskyy buying apartments in the Burj Khalifa garnered 86 million views, with 10 million of those coming from 19 'project contractors.' Under 'Project 2026,' the plans included:

• building a database covering 10,000 opinion leader accounts;
• posting up to 2,000 targeted messages on social media;
• conducting monthly analyses of 'discussion trends';
• monitoring 100 French opposition politicians;
• creating 200,000 web pages for Germany, with goals of editing 100 articles per month and 'training' six AI platforms monthly.

Bloomberg also discovered similar information-tracking websites created for the United Kingdom. Research from NewsGuard confirms that Russia's disinformation network has flooded popular AI chatbots. These findings point to a systematic approach to information manipulation and efforts to shape public opinion in countries critical of Russia.

This document leak highlights Russia's push to build a parallel information reality, with serious implications for nations working to counter disinformation.