A leading pro-Russian propagandist has reportedly been unmasked as a US navy veteran and tropical fish seller.
Sarah Bils, 37, allegedly used the alter ego “Donbas Devushka” to faithfully broadcast Kremlin propaganda online for months. She is said to be a former navy aviation electronics technician from New Jersey.
Ms Bils has been unmasked by the North Atlantic Fella Organisation, which devotes itself to raising funds for Ukraine and fighting disinformation.
Donbas Devushka had emerged after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine last year.
She built up a sizeable following on Twitter and YouTube, emerging as one of the main sources of Russian propaganda, raising money for the cause. Ms Bils amassed 135,000 subscribers to her podcast, in which she reportedly used a bogus Russian accent.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Donbas Devushka Telegram account also played a key role in the dissemination of intelligence documents allegedly leaked by Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old national guardsman, by reposting them on to an array of obscure online chat rooms.
However, Ms Bils denied being personally involved. “I obviously know the gravity of top-secret classified materials. We didn’t leak them,” she said.
Her love of tropical fish led to her true identity being exposed, after NAFO experts recognised her voice and home decor from an appearance on a 2020 aquarium fans’ podcast.
Interviewed over the weekend at her home, Ms Bils admitted she was the administrator of Donbas Devushka accounts and host of the podcasts.
She added she was one of 15 people involved in running the network and declined to name the others.
