An Armada of Russian Bots Relentlessly Follows Tsikhanouskaya

On September 11, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya celebrated her 44th birthday. Like any modern person, she received greetings on this occasion, including through social networks. However, not everyone receives so many haters in such posts.

Dozens of offensive comments are written in Russian and English. Meanwhile, hundreds of comments are strikingly similar. We looked at what narratives these accounts promote and how the impression of an international wave of hatred is created against the person Belarusians voted for in 2020.

Bots are programmed to impose the image of Tsikhanouskaya as an incompetent, unprepared person, a self-proclaimed leader. They call her a "cook," "imposter," "homeless person," "clown," and "kitchen president" — and in English, "Kitchen President."

The bots' messages intersect with the idea that well-wishers have recently been insistently suggesting to Siarhei Tsikhanouski: that he was the real leader, and Sviatlana is an accidental person unsuited for leadership.

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The geography of the "commentators" is also noteworthy. For example, accounts allegedly linked to Moldova and Bulgaria suddenly show a mass interest in Belarusian politics. And "residents" of English-speaking countries write in Russian.

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Greeks write in the great and powerful [Russian language], and Georgians with Russian names also comment.

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Bots, as always, like neighboring comments.

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Usually, Facebook shows posts to a limited circle of people. But under the greeting of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's advisor Franak Viachorka, more than 2000 comments accumulated.

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The geography of the "interested parties" here expands to Lithuania, Latvia, Canada, and the USA, and more English appears among the comments.

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But the content is the same in all languages:

«Who is this?», «Not a real president», «Are you high?», «President of what?», «Kitchen President».

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The fact that the posts are not left by real users is evidenced by an analysis of their profiles. Most pages of such "users" have no photos, or these photos are so generic that it's difficult to guarantee their authenticity. Most accounts have a minimum of friends, minimum or zero posts on their public profiles. Yet, they find posts with greetings to Tsikhanouskaya and leave identical comments under them.

Set of narratives:

«Where is Siarozha!?», «Such a marvel in history has probably never happened — for a person living outside the country to be called the president of that country. This is called the ravings of a grey mare» (meaning nonsense), «Well, the five-year term after those elections already ended long ago».

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Among the commentators, there are always "simple Ukrainian women" with closed profiles who condemn the war, "unleashed by Anglo-American hands."

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The same is observed on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Accounts posing as ordinary Belarusians are not enough for attacks on Tsikhanouskaya. The "geography" is much wider everywhere.

Tsikhanouskaya moved from Vilnius to Warsaw at the beginning of February, but commentators still "tie" her to Lithuania.

One calls her "President of Lithuania," another — "President of united kitchens, recognized by the banana republic of Lithuania."

It seems as if the set of narratives has not been updated since Tsikhanouskaya worked in Vilnius.

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For some perpetrators, Lithuania turns into Latvia. It is characteristic that Belarus is then referred to by its Russian variant "Belorussiya."

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It is unlikely that Minsk propaganda has such an extensive international network of bots. It is much more probable that Russian bot farms are involved in the campaign. They use their full set of accounts — from "Lithuanians" and "Moldovans" to "Americans" and "Canadians."

Judging by the resources spent on discrediting Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and her entourage, she is still considered by Moscow and Minsk as a threat to Aliaksandr Lukashenka's legitimacy and a serious opponent.

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