Russia's Wagner Group uses Twitter and Facebook to hunt new recruits - Politico

Russia's paramilitary Wagner Group has been using Twitter and Facebook to recruit medics, drone operators and even psychologists to aid fighting operations, including in Ukraine.

That's according to Politico, which refers to exclusive research, Ukrinform reports.

"Job ads for Wagner, which has mercenaries operating in several countries, have reached nearly 120,000 views on the two social media platforms over the last ten months, according to Logically, a U.K. disinformation-focused research group," the article reads.

Sixty posts in dozens of languages – including French, Vietnamese and Spanish – shared information about fighting, IT, driving and medical positions apparently available with Wagner. They also included contact phone numbers, Telegram accounts and touted monthly salaries of 240,000 rubles (EUR ‎2,800) with benefits including health care.

It isn't clear what success the recruitment campaigns have had. Yet the incitement to violence – and promotion of Russian attacks against Ukraine — almost certainly represent breaches of Facebook and Twitter's separate terms of service that outlaw such material.

"We designated the Wagner Group as a dangerous organization, meaning it cannot have a presence on our platforms," said a Meta spokesperson. They added that the company also removes content containing "praise or substantive support for Wagner when we become aware of it, including posts that aim to recruit for them."

Twitter responded to a request for comment with an automated poop emoji. The social media company last week quit a European Union charter to fight disinformation.