Matthew Kupfer

San Francisco, Washington, D.C., United States

Investigative Journalist at Voice of America (VOA)

Investigative journalist, @VOANews. Mostly #Ukraine & #Russia. Ex: @SFStandard @OCCRP @KyivPost @MoscowTimes. Opinions mine, not VOA's. Retweets ≠ endorsements.

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Articles

Facebook scammers use fake VOA article to push Russian cryptocurrency scheme

2 months ago | voanews.com | Matthew Kupfer

When American conservative commentator Tucker Carlson interviewed Russian IT entrepreneur Pavel Durov in April, he had an additional unexpected audience: scammers. After the video was published, a phony Russian-language transcript of the interview tried to attract “investors” to a cryptocurrency scheme that promised monthly earnings of $13,000. That scheme came to VOA’s attention because its creators used a copy of a VOA Russian article page in their attempts to defraud internet users.
Russian deepfake videos target Ukrainian refugees, including teen

2 months ago | voanews.com | Matthew Kupfer |Tatiana Vorozhko

New online videos recently investigated by VOA's Russian and Ukrainian services show how artificial intelligence is likely being used to try to create provocative deepfakes that target Ukrainian refugees. In one example, a video appears to be a TV news report about a teenage Ukrainian refugee and her experience studying at a private school in the United States.
VOA Russian: Fake American media linked to Russia is behind Zelenskyy and 'Hitler's car'

Dec 10, 2024 | voanews.com | Matthew Kupfer

A fake American “media outlet” posted a story about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy buying Adolf Hitler’s car — and it was widely shared in Russian media. The website for the “media outlet” (apparently trying to copy a renowned Seattle Times) was registered about a week ago. The photo was photoshopped and the story is fake. Some researchers connected the website to John Mark Dougan, an American who fled to Russia. A VOA Russian investigative reporter debunked this fake story.
Despite leader’s death, Russian Wagner mercenaries still fight abroad

Dec 2, 2024 | voanews.com | Matthew Kupfer

Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group remains active, even after the death of its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in August of 2023. Russian experts say the group has been drawn closer to Kremlin power structures and is still fighting to advance Moscow’s interests around the world. Matthew Kupfer has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.
Over a year after Wagner Group leader’s death, Russian mercenaries aren’t going away

Nov 28, 2024 | voanews.com | Matthew Kupfer

When Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in an August 2023 plane crash, many analysts said his death could mark the end of the Wagner Group, the private military company he co-founded that provided thousands of Russian mercenaries for Moscow’s initiatives and other interests abroad. But more than a year later, the picture of Russian mercenary activities has only grown more complicated, researchers say.
From VOA Russian: Wagner Group's future a year after Prigozhin's death

Nov 28, 2024 | voanews.com | Matthew Kupfer

Previously all-powerful, the Wagner Group has slowly been reduced in size and dismantled in many of the countries it operated in since the death of its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in August 2023. VOA Russian spoke to U.S. and Russian researchers who have written books about the Wagner Group in the past year, and they tell a story of the military group now narrowly focused only on certain countries in Africa where they continue to serve the Kremlin's interests. See the full story here.
Before US sanctions violations arrest, Russian businessman faced charges in Hong Kong

Nov 1, 2024 | voanews.com | Matthew Kupfer

When the U.S. Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on three companies belonging to Denis Postovoy on Wednesday, it was yet another move to break up what U.S. authorities say was an international scheme to violate sanctions. A month earlier, on September 16, law enforcement officials arrested the 44-year-old Russian national in Sarasota, Florida. He was charged with conspiring to violate sanctions on Russia, commit smuggling, commit money laundering and defraud the United States.
Russian propagandists push fake story that Zelenskyy bought Hitler's car

Oct 10, 2024 | voanews.com | Matthew Kupfer

The article in the Seattle Tribune had everything: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Adolf Hitler and a $15 million classic car. Unsurprisingly, it spread like wildfire across Russia's state and pro-Kremlin media. But the subject was a strange one for a news site about a U.S. city; such outlets usually cover only local stories. In fact, the article with headline "Hitler's parade car bought by Ukraine's Zelensky" was another fake spread by Russian propaganda.
Alleged cybercriminal wanted by US spent 15 years evading arrest

Sep 4, 2024 | voanews.com | Matthew Kupfer

When the U.S. State Department recently offered up to $2.5 million for information leading to the arrest of alleged cyber-fraudster Volodymyr Kadariya, it marked another turn in a saga that saw the man transform from suspected criminal to political dissident and back. For 15 years, Kadariya has been wanted in his native Belarus on cybercrime charges. American prosecutors accuse him of involvement in a scheme to transmit malicious malware to U.S. computers.
No charges against US serviceman in shooting of Chechen man

Aug 14, 2024 | voanews.com | Matthew Kupfer

U.S. prosecutors have declined to file charges against a U.S. military service person who shot and killed Ramzan Daraev, a 35-year-old Chechen asylum-seeker in North Carolina in May after a law enforcement investigation determined that the service person’s actions were justified under state law. The officer had "reasonable belief" that the unarmed man could pose a threat, the Moore County sheriff’s office said in a statement Monday announcing the conclusion of its investigation.