"Argentina imports disinformation Made in Russia"

On August 24, 2024, during a match for the Copa Argentina at Independiente's ground, the barras bravas of Huracán, turned into analysts of international politics, hung a banner twenty by two meters in one of the ends of the stadium. The cloth bore the phrase “Yes to football, no to war” with an Argentine flag on one end and the Ukrainian flag crossed out with a large black cross on the other. The gesture sparked some surprise reactions among social media users but largely went unnoticed in Argentina.

In contrast, it was carefully recorded in a leaked Russian intelligence report by the African media outlet The Continent and shared with a consortium of investigative media that includes openDemocracy (Britain), Dossier Center and iStories (Russia), All Eyes on Wagner and Forbidden Stories (France), and Filtraleaks (Argentina) along with two independent Russian-speaking journalists. The document is one of 76 out of a total of 1,431 pages that make up the leak, detailing the activities of a Russian espionage group called La Compañía in Africa and Latin America. The European media in the consortium have been publishing detailed articles based on the leak for more than a month without the Russian government attempting to deny them or responding to offers of a right of reply.

In the case of Argentina, the documents show that in April 2024 La Compañía launched a six-month media and political campaign to discredit the government of Javier Milei. At that time, the relationship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was present at Milei's inauguration, was key to his foreign policy. The Argentine president strictly followed the guidelines of the United States, which was then governed by Joe Biden and was firmly aligned with Kiev in the war against Russia. After Donald Trump took office in January 2025, the United States distanced itself from Ukraine, and Argentina followed suit. Thus, the Russian disinformation campaign in Argentina lost its main target and was discontinued.