A new report by the ATAFIMI project, led by Fundación Maldita.es and ten other partners, reveals that Russian disinformation between January and March 2026 exploited international events such as the Epstein files and the conflict in the Middle East to manipulate public opinion. The study also highlights the use of artificial intelligence to humiliate Ukrainian leaders, advanced audience targeting, and efforts to promote a positive image of Russia across ten countries, including Spain, Argentina and Venezuela.
The ATAFIMI project is an international initiative focused on monitoring and analysing cross-border disinformation campaigns. The project is coordinated by Fundación Maldita.es and brings together fact-checking and research organisations from several countries across Europe and Latin America. Maldita.es is a founding partner of IBERIFIER.
ATAFIMI is based on the concept of FIMI — Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference — a term used by the European Union to describe coordinated influence and disinformation campaigns conducted by state actors or their proxies.
