Russia taps into Maori language websites for propaganda push

• As part of the Russian propaganda network Pravda, websites have been created, including those in the Maori language, which spread misinformation in New Zealand.
• According to the DFRLab report, the Pravda network has significantly expanded its infrastructure, covering 140 domains targeting over 83 countries.
• New Zealand has imposed sanctions on Russian entities, which may be one of the reasons for the Russian disinformation campaign.

The Pravda internet network (independent of the Russian newspaper with the same name) is extending its reach into New Zealand. As reported by "The New Zealand Herald," citing a DFRLab report, the network promotes two New Zealand news services, including one in the Maori language. The objective of these activities is to divide New Zealand society.

DFRLab, part of the American think-tank Atlantic Council, specializes in disinformation analysis. In February 2025, it published a report indicating that in 2024, the Russian online ecosystem Pravda significantly expanded its infrastructure. At the beginning of 2025, the network had 140 domains targeting over 83 countries.

According to the report, the network previously known as "Portal Kombat" was built by the company TigerWeb from Crimea. From December 2024 to January 2025, nearly 30 new domains were created, including two targeting New Zealand. One of the sites operates in the Maori language.

Bogdan Pliszka from the Polish Geopolitical Society emphasizes that Russia tailors its propaganda to different audiences. "The message for Americans is different than for Brits, and yet another for New Zealanders, because they are interested in different things," he told PAP.

Katarzyna Chawryło from the Centre of Eastern Studies adds that Russia operates globally. "Perhaps New Zealand isn't the first place where we would look for Russian influences, but it doesn't surprise me that even there they have their information networks and are building footholds of influence," she emphasized.

The New Zealand Herald noted that some narratives spread by the Kremlin came from a Pasifika social media profile, which emphasized that China better serves Pacific countries than New Zealand. Pliszka does not rule out the possibility of Russian propaganda cooperation with China. "What China would like to say to Australians or New Zealanders will be dismissed as Chinese propaganda, but it can be voiced by a Russian source and more easily accepted," he said.

Chawryło reminds us that Russia and China have many common interests in politics and economics. "The cooperation of such two adversaries in the area of propaganda complicates defending the attacked country, even complicating the identification of hostile activities," she added.

Since Russia's attack on Ukraine, New Zealand has provided aid to Ukraine worth over 107 million dollars. Katarzyna Chawryło believes that this may be one of the reasons for the Russian disinformation campaign. "Russia marks countries politically, financially, and militarily engaged in supporting Ukraine as hostile and takes various retaliatory actions against them ," she said.

According to her, an additional factor is that New Zealand has imposed sanctions on many Russian entities, including media ones. In February 2022, the television broadcaster Sky, in agreement with the Broadcasting Standards Authority, suspended the broadcast of RT television.

"If the existing infrastructure, which Russia had already mastered using in a given country, was dismantled, for example, the broadcasting of RT stations was banned, then the Kremlin is trying to build new tools of influence," added Chawryło, emphasizing that the goal of Russian propaganda is, among other things, to stop Western countries from supporting Ukraine.