Russian special services preparing fake exit polls in Ukraine – OSINT group

Ex-officer of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, Captain First Rank Yuriy Smishchuk and ex-officer of the Special Operations Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, retired Colonel Serhiy Lytvynenko have said Russian special services with the support of local groups of influence are preparing a campaign to spread false exit poll data to randomize the electoral process and create grounds for the Kremlin's statement about the alleged illegitimacy of the election of the president of Ukraine.

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"According to our data, political strategists from the Center for current policy have developed recommendations for the Kremlin and pro-Russian forces in Ukraine on spreading fake exit poll data during presidential elections. It is planned to use false data from polls at polling stations during voting, which will be made public on March 31 to randomize the electoral process and create grounds for the Kremlin's statement about the alleged illegitimacy of the election of the president of Ukraine. It is planned to use the so-called 'consulting alliances' to spread false data, i.e. situational and corrupt associations of small consulting groups, which will use English-language names and abbreviations to create the impression of 'credibility,' as much as possible similar to brands of well-known trustworthy consulting companies," Smishchuk told Guildhall, the Information Resistance OSINT group reported on Saturday.

"Stovepiping of fake exit poll data into the Ukrainian, Russian and Western media is planned in three stages. The first false data should appear at about 13:00 on March 31 in unofficial sources, such as social networks, Telegram channels, etc. This information will be presented as the results of a poll of voters who voted from 08:00-12:00 and should demonstrate that the current president has allegedly low rating of 4-6%. The second stage will start at about 17:00. Also, the second wave of fake data will be spread through unofficial channels, where the rating of the current president will already be higher, but he will rank 3rd or 4th following the pro-Russian candidate. The third stage will start after 20:00. The pro-Russian TV channels and websites will show an infographics with fake exit poll data, where the difference in ratings of the first three or four candidates will be presented as minimal, but with a high rating of the pro-Russian candidate. They will also emphasize the alleged obstacles in the work of such exit polls at polling stations," Lytvynenko added.