Phony Websites
NewsGuard identified 171 AI-generated websites planted across the U.S. and Europe posing as local news outlets.
NewsGuard has identified 171 websites apparently linked to Dougan’s network masquerading as local news sources and pushing pro-Kremlin disinformation, including stories aimed at exacerbating polarization in the U.S. and undermining confidence in the upcoming elections. These sites masquerading as independent local news sites, with names such as DCWeekly and the Chicago Chronicle, have published over 50,000 articles in the past year, with narratives regularly amplified by Russian state media, Kremlin officials, and social media bots.
Nutrition Label: John Mark Dougan Network
A sampling of domains in Dougan’s network, disguised to sound like local news outlets:
Atlanta-Observer.com
DemocracyDrive.org
HeartlandHarbor.org
JournalofAmericans.org
LondonCrier.co.uk
MiamiChron.com
MichiganTribune.org
NYNewsDaily.org
PennsylvaniaMessenger.com
Raleigh-Herald.com
RockyMountainObserver.com
StateStage.org
TruthCentral.org
WashingtonWatch.us
On Oct. 18, 2024, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a public service announcement warning about Russian disinformation campaigns ahead of, and likely following, the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The announcement named some of the websites previously identified by NewsGuard as being part of Dougan’s network.