Don't believe your eyes: Kremlin bots convince Russians there is no petrol shortage

Russian pro-government bots have begun flooding social media with messages assuring citizens that there is no petrol shortage in Russia and that rising fuel prices are "normal".

Source: The Moscow Times, citing Russian media outlet Verstka

Details: According to data from the Botnadzor project, bots have posted over 1,300 comments since the beginning of the week under posts related to the fuel crisis on the Russian social network VKontakte. More than 550 accounts have taken part in this information campaign.

The campaign focused on commenting in regional public groups and car-related communities.

"One petrol station has stopped selling petrol, and it's not even clear why – but people are blowing it up like there's no petrol across the whole country and all of Russia is walking everywhere," one comment read.

Another added: "It's all getting back to normal; petrol station stocks are being replenished; everything's fine".

"One station in one city of one network ran out of fuel, and the internet is already spreading rumours that all of Russia is out of petrol," said another bot.

At the same time, the bots gave no consistent explanation for the rise in petrol prices. One claimed: "The price is rising for objective reasons – lots of global events are affecting the country's economy".

Another blamed Ukrainians, saying they are targeting refineries.

A third cited the "modernisation" of refineries and the investment required, while a fourth stated that "oil and gas are becoming more expensive".

Background:

• A total of 20 regions of Russia and temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine are experiencing fuel shortages after Ukrainian drone strikes targeted Russian refineries.
• Since 24 September, all grades of petrol, including the most expensive A100, have completely disappeared from petrol stations in annexed Crimea.
• By late last week, the number of petrol stations in Russia affected by supply disruptions had dropped by 2.6% – or 360 stations – since late July. In some regions, the problem has become more widespread.
• A fuel shortage has led to restrictions on petrol sales in the Russian-occupied city of Sevastopol in Crimea as of 29 September.
• The Russian government has extended the temporary ban on petrol exports and imposed restrictions on other types of fuel until the end of 2025.
• Russia now faces the threat of widespread closure of private petrol stations.

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