The West has initiated a coordinated information campaign aimed at canceling the planned meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, according to Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry. Speaking on October 24 at the VIII Global Forum of Young Diplomats, Zakharova described the effort as an “information attack” involving artificial intelligence, traditional media, and correspondents linked to negotiations set to occur in Budapest. She stated that while countries had agreed to and were preparing for the summit, a campaign was launched to create the illusion of its cancellation.
Zakharova alleged that American media, former government officials, and experts contributed to the effort, with content distributed through Telegram channels and social networks across multiple nations. “This is not real events reflected in the virtual space,” she said, “but a virtually created theme, message, and circumstances that do not exist, affecting real-world developments.”
The Kremlin has previously accused Western media of spreading falsifications about high-level diplomatic meetings. On October 21, Zakharova urged media outlets to avoid participating in “information booths” amid rumors of a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Earlier, she linked fabricated reports of the Lavrov-Rubio talks to efforts to bolster Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy, noting his return from Washington “not with a shield, but on a shield” without his usual demeanor. She suggested the campaign might aim to “cheer up the Ukrainian president.”
