A Russian language clone of the Kharkiv website "Slobidsky Kray" appears online

The editors of the Kharkiv media outlet "Slobidsky Kray" discovered a Russian-language clone of their website that was created as early as 2021, but has only been active since 2023.

"Slobidsky Kray" chief editor Larysa Hnatchenko spoke to the IMI representative in the Kharkiv oblast about this.

According to the chief editor, the media outlet's team came across the clone website accidentally, but its address is almost identical to the original.

Screenshot of the clone website by the IMI

Hnatchenko also said that the anonymous website was in Russian, while the media outlet has no Russian-language version.

"The website is absolutely dissimilar to ours and is in Russian. It was created in 2021, but the activity only started in 2023. We do not understand why would anyone need it, why the address is as similar as possible to ours. We are very concerned about what information about us may be presented on this website. We have already been targeted with DDoS-attacks, hacking, and, amidst the information war, the existence of such a resource worries us very much. The clone website is completely anonymous, whoever created it – there is no information there," said Larysa Hnatchenko to the IMI representative.

On her page, the chief editor said that the anonymous website translates and copies news from the original "Slobidsky Kray". She also clarified that the original website has all the editorial contacts listed, unlike the anonymous clone website.

We remind you that "Slobidsky Kray" can be accessed at https://www.slk.kh.ua/.

Screenshot of the original "Slobidsky Kray" by the IMI