Kremlin bot ‘Matryoshka’ spreads deepfake video mocking Moldova’s president Sandu

01 September 2025 , 16:45

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Kremlin bot ‘Matryoshka’ spreads deepfake video mocking Moldova’s president Sandu

The Kremlin bot network known as “Matryoshka” is disseminating a fake music video on X (formerly Twitter) that ridicules Moldova’s President Maia Sandu, according to the watchdog project Bot Blocker.

Which reported the incident to The Insider.

The Insider examined the clip using Hive Moderation, a tool that identifies AI-generated content in images, video, and audio, and determined that the content was created using the Luma AI video-generation platform, developed by the U.S.-based company Luma. The audio track, however, was most likely recorded by a human, according to the assessment.

According to Bot Blocker, this is the fourth instance in two years that the disinformation network has released the same video across multiple bot accounts simultaneously. The pattern usually follows one of two methods: either one bot posts the fake clip while another shares links to it in the comments under posts by major media outlets, or a single account uploads the video with dozens of others reposting it to simulate viral spread. The use of a full-screen video is also noteworthy, as Matryoshka typically relies on vertical clips designed for mobile viewing.

The video features a deepfake of Sandu that depicts the Moldovan president as inconsistent and ineffective. It makes fun of Moldova’s prolonged path toward EU accession and references a dispute with Russia’s state-controlled energy giant Gazprom over gas supplies to the breakaway Transnistrian Moldovan Republic last year. The video also includes mentions of fugitive pro-Kremlin oligarch Ilan Shor, whose political bloc Victorie (Victory) was barred from participating in Moldova’s Sept. 28 parliamentary elections. The narration is in Russian.

Sandu has been a frequent target for Matryoshka’s bot accounts, which initiated intensified attacks on her back in April. That wave accused Sandu of corruption, suppressing dissent, and manipulating elections. Simultaneously, the “Foundation for the Fight Against Repression,” founded by the late Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, published a fabricated “investigation” claiming that Sandu was profiting from trafficking Ukrainian children to pedophiles.

The bots also tried to turn European Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas against Sandu by circulating false claims that Sandu was interested in Kallas’s position. Analysts suggest the likely motive behind this surge of disinformation is the upcoming Moldovan parliamentary elections, set for Sept. 28.

Emma Davis

Deputy Editor