Several Russian media outlets have reported a mass influx of fake subscribers and bots into their Telegram channels, with the surge affecting “Dozhd,” “Novaya Gazeta” and other publications.
The “Ostorozhno, Novosti” channel also became a target. According to the outlet, the mass addition of bots began on the night of September 12. Over the following several days, the channel gained around 10,000 subscribers, but the profiles of all the new followers were empty, with no descriptions or profile pictures. The accounts were identified as bots typically used to artificially inflate subscriber numbers. Another channel owned by the Ostorozhno Media holding saw a similar surge.
Other media outlets also reported comparable spikes in their subscriber numbers. Journalists at Novaya Gazeta said more than 10,000 new accounts had joined their channel, despite there being no major news event that could explain the sudden increase. Journalists at Dozhd suggested that the artificial influx could be intended to trigger mass complaints against the channel in an attempt to have it blocked. Journalists at ASTRA also reported being targeted by similar activity.
Artificially inflating Telegram subscribers is one method used to attack channels. For example, such activity can reduce a channel’s ERR (engagement rate by reach).
By Jeyhun Aghazada
