Mapping the disinformation industry in Russia

This article examines disinformation production as a form of media labour and production infrastructure, introducing a novel methodological approach based on large-scale open-source labour data. By systematically analysing the CVs of employees of disinformation production organisations, it demonstrates how CV data can be used to reconstruct organisational structures, technological toolkits, recruitment dynamics, and labour-market embeddedness in contexts where direct fieldwork is constrained or impossible. Drawing on Actor–Network Theory as an analytical lens, the analysis treats CVs as material traces of digital labour infrastructures and organisational alignment. Using case studies of major Russian disinformation organisations, the article shows how workforce dynamics track key political developments, how toolkits reflect shifting organisational priorities, and how disinformation labour has become embedded within state-aligned labour markets. It concludes by outlining the methodological implications of this approach for studying covert or inaccessible organisations and by reflecting on its limitations and further research directions.