The name ‘Social Design Agency’ (SDA) is used in various contexts; however, in the international media and Western official sources, the abbreviation ‘SDA’ primarily refers to the Russian network ‘Social Design Agency’, which is linked to the Kremlin’s disinformation and influence operations.

The ‘Social Design Agency’ network is linked to the Kremlin’s disinformation and influence operations

According to the British government, Reuters, Mediamax and a number of investigative media outlets, the SDA has been involved in coordinated disinformation and political influence campaigns targeting European countries, Ukraine and Armenia.

According to published data on Armenia, the SDA made attempts to:

to promote pro-Russian political and public narratives,
• to facilitate the creation of pro-Moscow groups,
• with the aim of influencing internal political processes and the pre-election climate in Armenia,
• to disseminate manipulative content on social media and media platforms.
• According to The Moscow Times: On Monday, the UK government imposed sanctions on 85 individuals and organisations accused of interfering in the upcoming elections in Armenia, as well as organising the forced deportation and ideological indoctrination of Ukrainian children.

The new measures target 49 employees of the Social Design Agency (SDA), who have already been subject to Western sanctions for alleged election interference. British officials have described the sanctioned individuals, including writers, translators and video producers, as participants in a Kremlin-funded operation designed to mimic Western media and spread disinformation.

“The Kremlin has instructed and funded the SDA to carry out a series of interventionist operations aimed at undermining democracy and weakening support for Ukraine,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.

London has accused the SDA of attempting to establish pro-Moscow forces in Armenia ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for 7 June. Tensions between the two countries have recently escalated following Armenia’s moves to join the EU and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Yerevan last week.

The sanctions have also been imposed on the organisation ‘ANO Dialog’ and its leadership. The British authorities claim that this organisation coordinated its activities with the Russian security services with the aim of influencing Armenia’s domestic politics.

This material was produced as part of the Disinformation Monitoring Programme.