Russian propaganda targets New Zealand with Maori-language sites

          
• As part of the Russian propaganda network Pravda, websites have been launched, including those in the Maori language, which are spreading misinformation in New Zealand.
• According to the DFRLab report, the Pravda network has significantly expanded its infrastructure, encompassing 140 domains targeting more than 83 countries.
• New Zealand has imposed sanctions on Russian entities, which may be one of the reasons behind the Russian disinformation campaign.

The Pravda internet network (independent of the Russian newspaper with the same name) is expanding its activities to New Zealand. As reported by "The New Zealand Herald," citing a DFRLab report, the network promotes two New Zealand news services, including one in the Maori language. The purpose of these activities is to divide New Zealand society.

DFRLab, part of the American think tank Atlantic Council, specializes in analyzing disinformation. In February 2025, it published a report showing that in 2024, the Russian online ecosystem Pravda significantly expanded its infrastructure. By early 2025, the network had 140 domains targeting over 83 countries.

According to the report, the network, previously known as "Portal Kombat," was built by the company TigerWeb from Crimea. Between December 2024 and January 2025, nearly 30 new domains were created, including two targeting New Zealand. One of the portals operates in the Maori language.

Bogdan Pliszka from the Polish Geopolitical Society emphasizes that Russia tailors its propaganda for different audiences. "The message for Americans is different than for Brits, and yet another for New Zealanders, because they are interested in different things," he told PAP.

Katarzyna Chawryło from the Center of Eastern Studies adds that Russia operates on a global scale. "Perhaps New Zealand isn't the first place where we would look for Russian influences, but it doesn't surprise me that even there they have their information networks and are building footholds of influence," she emphasized.

The New Zealand Herald noted that some narratives spread by the Kremlin originated from a Pasifika social media profile, which stressed that China better serves Pacific countries compared to New Zealand. Pliszka does not rule out the possibility of Russian propaganda cooperation with China. "What China would like to say to Australians or New Zealanders might be dismissed as Chinese propaganda, but it can be voiced by a Russian source and more easily accepted," he said.

Chawryło reminds us that Russia and China share many common interests in politics and economics. "The cooperation of such two adversaries in the area of propaganda complicates defending the targeted country, even complicating the identification of hostile activities," she added.

Since Russia's attack on Ukraine, New Zealand has provided aid to Ukraine worth over 107 million dollars. Katarzyna Chawryło believes that this may be one of the reasons for the Russian disinformation campaign. "Russia marks countries that are politically, financially, and militarily engaged in supporting Ukraine as hostile and takes various retaliatory actions against them," she said.

According to her, an additional factor is that New Zealand has imposed sanctions on many Russian entities, including media ones. In February 2022, the television broadcaster Sky, in agreement with the Broadcasting Standards Authority, suspended the broadcast of RT television.

"If the existing infrastructure that Russia had already mastered in a given country was destroyed, for example, by banning the broadcasting of RT stations, then the Kremlin is trying to build new tools of influence," added Chawryło, emphasizing that the goal of Russian propaganda is, among other things, to stop Western countries from supporting Ukraine.