Nadezhdin and several independent media outlets have reported mass bot manipulation in Telegram channels.

Politician Boris Nadezhdin, as well as ASTRA, Dozhd, and Important Stories, have reported a mass influx of suspicious subscribers to their Telegram channels. Novaya Gazeta Europe drew attention to this.

Nadezhdin said that several thousand similar-looking accounts subscribed to his channel in one day. Important Stories reported ten thousand new subscribers over several days. Their editorial team noted that most of them are – inactive accounts without photos and with generated names. ASTRA and Dozhd reported noticing similar manipulation.

Several channel owners suggested that this manipulation could be preparation for mass complaints and attempts to get their channels blocked during the elections. In August, the Yabloko Telegram channel also experienced a mass bot influx: almost 40,000 accounts subscribed in a single day. The party suggested that unknown individuals may have been trying to discredit the channel’s growing popularity, which had recently surpassed United Russia’s channel in subscriber numbers.

18:55 RT and Vladimir Solovyov’s Telegram channel also reported bot manipulation. RT said that in three days, many accounts without photos, stories, or signs of activity subscribed to their channel. Solovyov’s channel said they had detected an external attempt to inflate subscriber numbers and see it as a way to discredit their resource.

In addition, Novaya Gazeta, Meduza, The Insider, Ostorozhno Media, Sirena, Kod.ru and others have experienced a suspicious increase in subscribers.

The news has been updated due to new information about other cases of manipulation.