Vladimir Putin's Forkiverse

A small, well-intentioned decentralized social network was infiltrated by Russian propaganda accounts within nine months, prompting its shutdown.

• Experiment winds down: PJ Vogt, Casey Newton, and Kevin Roose launched the Forkiverse, a Mastodon instance, on January 9th; it drew nearly 10,000 users before engagement faded.
• Russian disinformation infiltrated: IFTAS executive director Jazz Michael King flagged a 'base account' (Yikzaghi Zogek) and follow-up account (@KylePalmer) tied to the Kremlin's Pravda/Portal Combat propaganda network.

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