On August 1st a journalist who writes for an American celebrity-gossip site woke up to a nasty shock. The site had been cloned, and she appeared as the author of a fake story claiming that Maia Sandu, the president of Moldova—a country that most of the journalist’s readers would have trouble locating—had spent $400,000 on “illegally obtained sperm” from gay stars, including Elton John. Moldova will hold a parliamentary election on September 28th, and like many foes of Russia, Ms Sandu and her party are being targeted by disinformation campaigns.