Politico: Russians recruit mercenaries for war with Ukraine via Twitter and Facebook

According to an exclusive study obtained by POLITICO, Wagner’s Russian PMC used Twitter and Facebook to recruit medics, drone operators, and even military psychologists for the war with Ukraine.

Sixty posts in dozens of languages, including French, Vietnamese, and Spanish, contained information about combat operations, IT technologies, and job openings. They also shared contact phone numbers and Telegram accounts. The salary for the «candidates» was attractive — 240,000 rubles (2,800 euros) with benefits, including medical care.

According to Logically, a British disinformation research group, the Wagner job postings have received nearly 120,000 views on Twitter and Facebook over the past ten months.

Although the researchers could not attribute the ads to Wagner with absolute certainty, they bear the mark of the militia and its supporters by 100%. «We know that they are using the same rhetoric as previously verified Wagner accounts on social media such as Telegram or VK,» said Kyle Walter, head of research at Logically.

«It is not known how successful these recruitment campaigns were. However, incitement to violence and promotion of Russian aggression against Ukraine almost certainly violates certain Facebook and Twitter terms of service that prohibit such material,» the media experts wrote.

A separate comment by an anonymous government official to POLITICO confirmed that at least two of the phone numbers listed in the social media ads are directly linked to either Wagner’s group or Russian intelligence.

In a commentary to journalists, Meta, Facebook’s parent company, assured that it is aware of the threat posed by Wagner’s PMC and removes such content whenever it is detected by moderators. In turn, Twitter responded to a request for comment with the «?» emoji. It should be noted that last week, the platform owned by Elon Musk withdrew from the EU Code of Practice on Disinformation.