Drug shops began to advertise themselves with fake news

Drug dealers began to massively promote their illegal business in legal media and Telegram channels. To do this, they spread fake news about allegedly illegal advertising on various online trading platforms, Izvestia found out.

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Currently, there are more than 2 thousand publications on the Internet, telling, for example, about the logos of stores and drug sites that unite them, which were allegedly found by vigilant users on the soles of sneakers. The publication estimates that about 7 thousand users have commented on these publications.

So, in January 2024, a video was distributed on dozens of Telegram channels, which shows screenshots with reviews under the product on one of the largest marketplaces in Russia. The buyers stated that they allegedly found a printed drug site logo on the sole of the shoe, which left corresponding footprints in the snow.

"Our inspection revealed the use of image processing tools: some of the product reviews are fabricated. In fact, the customer reviews left on the product card have a completely different content," the press service of one of the marketplaces said.

A similar campaign took place at the end of 2024: the logo of one of the drug sites was placed on items for babies. The fake went viral on the Internet, with more than 40 channels posting discussion posts.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

New jeans: drug dealers began to use fake news for their advertising