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Russian ‘Male State’ founder denies links to fake bomb threats in Europe

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The Straits Times. (2026, November 6). Russian ‘Male State’ founder denies links to fake bomb threats in Europe. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/russia-male-state-founder-denies-links-to-fake-bomb-threats-in-europe

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Straits Times · collected 2026-11-06 · by The Straits Times

Quick Summary

The founder of the Russian radical misogynist group "Male State," Vladislav Pozdniakov, denied on November 6 any connection to recent fake bomb threats targeting airports in Europe. E-mails threatening bombs at Rome and Sofia airports were signed with the “Male State” name. However, Pozdniakov claimed that the movement ceased existence after being banned by Russian authorities for extremism in 2021. He suggested that those behind the current threats are using the group’s name but acting independently of it.
Written by AI on 2026-11-09, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On November 6, 2026, Vladislav Pozdniakov, the founder of the banned Russian radical misogynist movement "Male State," denied any involvement in recent fake bomb threats across Europe. The movement was declared extremist by Russian authorities and banned in 2021. Emails signed by "the fighters of the Male State" were sent to airports in Rome and Sofia, causing disruptions to flights and prompting rerouting or fighter jet escorts. Pozdniakov stated on Telegram that the movement does not exist since its ban in 2021, suggesting that those using the group's name are acting independently for their own interests. European authorities remain unsure of who is behind these threats and continue efforts to identify them.

Written for “Russian Male State Founder Denies Links” on 2026-11-09, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but 1 quote(s) could not be found in the article and the other 1 are attributed speech rather than the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 135473: no verified evidence · logged 2026-11-09

Story

Russian Male State Founder Denies Links
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 25% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
‘Message to the West’ bomb threats target European newsrooms, travel Different event
Al Jazeera
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles describe related events but different occurrences, with one detailing bomb threats from 'Mikhail Andropov' and another denying links to similar threats by the 'Male State'.”
Bomb threats sent to two European airports signed ‘fighters of the Male State’ Different event
The Straits Times
Hedges 2 of 13 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles cover related but distinct aspects of the event: one focuses on the denial by the founder, while the other describes the initial bomb threats.”
Bomb hoaxes grounding 25 planes include bizarre anti-feminist threat to ‘turn the skies red’ Different event
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Leans right Hedges 2 of 12 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A describes the initial bomb hoaxes affecting flights, while Article B covers a denial from the 'Male State' founder regarding links to those threats on a later date.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
8
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
25%
2 of 8 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
66/100
The Straits Times's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-09 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

The Straits Times
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 3149 articles by The Straits Times →

Topics

AFP European Rome Russian the “Male State”

Subjects

Russian NORP · 4× the “Male State” ORG · 3× AFP ORG · 2× European NORP · 2× Rome GPE · 2× MOSCOW GPE · 1× Sofia GPE · 1× Telegram ORG · 1× Vladislav Pozdniakov PERSON · 1× the Male State ORG · 1×

Narrative

The movement, which never gained much traction, was best known for its online harassment campaigns until it was declared “extremist” and banned by Russian authorities in 2021.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-09
“Not that I am particularly concerned about Europe, its security or its economy (in fact, I could not care less about it),” he added.
2026-11-09 · The Straits Times
Russian ‘Male State’ founder denies links to fake bomb threats in Europe · mixed framing

Claims (8 extracted, 2 hedged)

Russian ‘Male State’ founder denies links to fake bomb threats in Europe AI generated asserted
founder → deny → Europe
The founder of the “Male State”, a Russian radical misogynist movement banned in 2021 for “extremism”, denied on Nov 6 any links with fake bomb threats in Europe. asserted
founder → ban → Europe
Commercial flights in Europe have been hit by hoax bomb threats this week, forcing authorities to reroute some planes or escort civilian aircraft with fighter jets. E-mails sent to the Rome and Sofia airports were signed “the fighters of the Male State”, according to the text seen by AFP and the company operating Rome airport. The founder of the “Male State”, Vladislav Pozdniakov, said on social media Nov 6 that the “movement does not exist since 2021”. “Those who are organising on the territory of European countries provocations from this ‘brand’ are acting in their interests, just using someone else’s flag,” he said on Telegram. uncertain
he → hit → Telegram
“Not that I am particularly concerned about Europe, its security or its economy (in fact, I could not care less about it),” he added. uncertain
he → care → it
European authorities are scrambling to identify the sources of the threats. asserted
authorities → scramble → threats
The “Male State” was founded in 2016 by Pozdniakov – a blogger and fitness coach – initially as a community on the Russian social network VK. asserted
State → found → network
It then took on a semi-political character, with an ideology blending misogyny and nationalism. asserted
It → take → misogyny
The movement, which never gained much traction, was best known for its online harassment campaigns until it was declared “extremist” and banned by Russian authorities in 2021. asserted
it → gain → 2021
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