Telegram propaganda network uses fake sexual-violence bait to drive users to pro-Russia channels
A large Telegram advertising network has been identified using deceptive posts featuring photos of Ukrainian women to lure users into pro-Russia channels. The campaign promoted false claims that the women had been captured or sexually assaulted, while promising videos that did not exist. According to the investigation, the network has reached more than 65 million views across 1,700 channels.
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The material was traced to a wider ecosystem of private and public channels on the messaging platform, with six private channels reportedly exceeding 1 million subscribers each. Those channels were said to publish content favourable to the Kremlin and to sell commercial advertising for as much as 500,000 rubles per post. The platform did not respond to requests for comment on the campaign, according to the report.
One of the people whose image was used is Keti Leshkasheli, a Georgian doctor who served in the Ukrainian armed forces. She said friends and family contacted her after seeing posts claiming she had been captured and raped, and she later recognised herself in a military photograph used in the bait. Leshkasheli served as a military medic in Ukraine's International Legion and was decorated by President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2025, according to the investigation.
The case highlights how online propaganda can exploit sexual violence narratives to spread disinformation and recruit audiences. It also shows how such campaigns can target individual women, including current and former members of the Ukrainian military, by reusing personal images without consent. The scale described in the investigation suggests a coordinated operation rather than isolated abuse.
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Telegram has long been used by political actors, activists and wartime information networks because of its large channels, private groups and limited moderation compared with some other platforms. In the context of Russia's war against Ukraine, messaging services have become a major battleground for influence operations, fundraising and recruitment. The use of fabricated sexual-violence claims adds a further layer of harm because it can intensify fear, humiliation and reputational damage for the people named.
The investigation said it identified images of more than 20 women used in the campaign, many of them serving or former Ukrainian soldiers. In Leshkasheli's case, the image was taken years earlier in Avdiivka, a city in eastern Ukraine that is now under Russian occupation. The report said she had been serving as a paramedic in the Ukrainian International Legion when the image was taken.
The findings also point to a commercial side of the network, with private channels monetising their reach through paid advertising. That suggests the propaganda operation is not only ideological but also financially structured, with incentives to keep producing attention-grabbing material. The combination of false sexual-violence claims and paid promotion may help explain how the network scaled so quickly.
What remains unclear is who exactly controls the wider network, how many of the channels are directly coordinated, and whether any platform action will follow. The investigation did not say whether the accounts have been removed, and the company involved did not publicly address the allegations in the report. The next developments to watch are whether the channels continue to expand, whether victims can get the material taken down, and whether the platform changes its response to this kind of abuse.
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