Updates from Threat Analysis Group (TAG)

Threat Analysis Group

TAG Bulletin: Q1 2023

Mar 01, 2023

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Shane Huntley
Shane Huntley
Senior Director, Threat Analysis Group

This bulletin includes coordinated influence operation campaigns terminated on our platforms in Q1 2023. It was last updated on March 1, 2023.

January

  • We blocked 2 domains from eligibility to appear on Google News surfaces and Discover as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to individuals from Poland. The campaign was sharing content in Polish that was supportive of Russia and critical of the United States and Ukraine. We received leads from Mandiant, which is now part of Google Cloud, that supported us in this investigation.
  • We terminated 87 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Russia. The campaign was linked to the Internet Research Agency (IRA) and was sharing content in Russian that was supportive of the Wagner Group and Russia’s performance in the war in Ukraine.
  • We terminated 7 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Russia. The campaign was linked to actors tied to Russian intelligence and was sharing content in Russian that was supportive of the Russian government, the war in Ukraine, and the quality of daily life in Russia for the average Russian citizen.
  • We terminated 4 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations. The campaign was sharing content in German that was critical of Ukrainian refugees.
  • We terminated 40 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Iran. The campaign was sharing content in Persian, English, Hindi and Urdu that was supportive of the Iranian government and critical of protesters in Iran. We received leads from Graphika that supported us in this investigation.
  • We terminated 1,088 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Azerbaijan. The campaign was sharing content in Azerbaijani that was supportive of Azerbaijan and critical of Armenia and critics of the Azerbaijani government.
  • We terminated 6,285 YouTube channels and 52 Blogger blogs as part of our ongoing investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to China. These channels and blogs mostly uploaded spammy content in Chinese about music, entertainment and lifestyle. A very small subset uploaded content in Chinese and English about China and U.S. foreign affairs. These findings are consistent with our previous reports.
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