Suspected Russian propaganda operation prompts calls to force UK-registered news sites to reveal ownership

Fake news websites registered in the UK and made to resemble trusted British outlets are allegedly spreading disinformation about western companies operating in Ukraine.

The suspected Russian propaganda operation has prompted calls by parliamentarians for a change in the law to force UK-registered news websites to reveal their ownership, as happens in the EU.

While the sites – londoninsider.co.uk and talk-finance.co.uk – are in English and have been registered in the UK, their output has been picked up and disseminated in Ukraine, where the UK’s media has a reputation for reliability and trustworthiness.

The use of the sites has been highlighted by a US firm, Sarn, which is working in Ukraine in the energy and military hardware sectors. It said articles on the two sites had falsely accused it of arms trafficking, judicial fraud and embezzlement.