France’s VIGINUM exposes 'Portal Kombat' — 193-site pro-Russian propaganda network

On 12 February 2024, VIGINUM, the French state agency created in 2021 to monitor foreign digital interference, published the first findings of an investigation into what it named the "Portal Kombat" network. The agency described a structured and coordinated set of at least 193 digital "information portals" that disseminate pro-Russian content and target several Western countries. VIGINUM said it analysed the network's activity between September and December 2023.

According to VIGINUM, the sites produce no original journalism. Instead they massively relay material from three types of sources: social media accounts of Russian or pro-Russian actors, Russian news agencies, and official websites of local institutions, often using automated translation and content sharing. The network includes "Pravda"-style aggregator sites. VIGINUM assessed that the operation's central aim is to portray Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine favourably while denigrating Ukraine and its leadership.

The portals target audiences across Europe and beyond, including France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as occupied Ukrainian territories. VIGINUM noted that content aimed at French-speaking audiences leaned on themes common to conspiracy circles, including distrust of mainstream media and of institutions such as NATO, the EU and the UN. The agency reported that individual sites had relatively modest direct audiences.

VIGINUM is a French state body, and its report represents an official government assessment of a coordinated pro-Russian information operation, not a court ruling. The agency attributes the network to a structured pro-Russian effort to amplify Kremlin-aligned narratives, and direct Kremlin command-and-control is assessed rather than judicially proven. The findings fit a broader pattern of industrialised, automated content laundering documented by European researchers. Subsequent reporting indicated the network continued to expand after public exposure, underscoring its resilience.