Telecoms firm Telenor is trying to increase its stake in VimpelCom, Russia's second largest mobile provider. Telenor is controlled by the Norwegian state, and Norway is a member of NATO. Mobile telecommunications is a strategic industry. Conclusion: NATO is trying to control Russia's strategic industries. This must be stopped.

Articles making exactly these arguments, figures and all, appeared on the same day, June 16, with no connection to any news event. They were printed in Izvestia, Komsolmolskaya Pravda and Parlamentskaya Gazeta. A few days later, on June 21, an article appeared in Rossiiskaya Gazeta with the same set of facts and figures but now citing other publications in the Russian press.