Operation between June and October 2024 disseminated more than 250 pieces of content on 20 Argentine digital platforms, according to El País
A Russian spy group conducted a media and political campaign in Argentina to discredit the government of the Argentine president (Freedom Advances, direita). The operation took place between June and October 2024 and the Russian group disbursed at least US$283,100 to finance the publications.
A consortium of international investigative media outlets identified more than 250 pieces of content published on more than 20 Argentine digital platforms.
The set of 76 documents with 1,431 pages details the activities of a group called “The Company” in Africa and Latin America. The data was published by the newspaper and by an international media association.
True and false news
The intelligence report was initially leaked by the South African outlet and shared with a consortium that includes (Great Britain), e (Russia), e (France), in addition to the website (Argentina) and Russian independent journalists.
In Argentina, documents indicate that the campaign began a few months after Milei’s inauguration, in December 2023. At the time, the Argentine’s relationship with the Ukrainian president, (Servant of the People, center), was central to foreign policy.
After the inauguration of the American president (Republican Party), in January 2025, the United States distanced itself from Ukraine and Argentina followed the same movement. As a result, the Russian disinformation campaign lost its main objective and was terminated.
The strategy consisted of criticizing the government with a mix of true and false news, creating internal divisions and encouraging conflicts with neighbors, according to the Filtraleaksled by journalist Santiago O’Donnell.
The analysis revealed that photos of alleged perpetrators were from image banks or created by artificial intelligence. The topics covered cuts in education, salary reductions and tensions with progressive governments in the region.
According to the The Countrythe Russian Embassy in Argentina classified the investigation as “anti-Russian material” and stated that there is no evidence. The Argentine Chancellor, Pablo Quirno, declared that the facts are under analysis by the Court to determine responsibilities.
BETWEEN US$350 to US$3,100 PER ARTICLE
Each published article received amounts between US$350 and US$3,100. THE Filtraleaks estimates the average salary for a local journalist to be $700.
Financial records reveal additional spending of US$343,000 in Argentina. These amounts were allocated to collecting information, organizing work in the territory and other expenses.
Here are the vehicles mentioned and the number of articles:
- Diario Con Vos (37);
- The Uncovering (27);
- Registered Journal (26);
- Realpolitik (20);
- Two Bases (19);
- C5N (17);
- Big Bang News (16);
- Argentine Politics (12);
- An Orsai (11);
- A24(10);
- La Patriada Web (9);
- Scope (8);
- The Web Citizen (6);
- Argentine Time (6);
- Cry of the South (6);
- City Section (5);
- Infosky (3);
- Infobae (2);
- The Chronicler (2);
- Urban Agenda (2);
- Data Clave (1);
- Agro Citizen (1);
- and Contraste MDP (1).
In addition to content, the company spent US$343,000 in Argentina on intelligence and logistics. The government informed the The Country that SIDE (Secretariat of State Intelligence) reported the operation to the courts in October 2024.
