In October 2026, the Counter-Disinformation Centre identified 10 cases of the spread of false and manipulative information in Kazakhstan. Among them were reports of fictitious payments, changes to the individual identification number (IIN), military raids, emergencies and supposedly new state mortgage programmes.
WHAT FAKES WERE CIRCULATED IN OCTOBER
A significant proportion of the identified reports were based on real events and state procedures but contained fabricated details or incorrect explanations.
In particular, claims about the possibility of changing the IIN were circulated on social media. However, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) clarified that an IIN is assigned once and is not subject to change.
Reports also appeared of supposedly conducted military commissariat raids near computer clubs. The Ministry of Defence explained that citizens are notified about conscription, including by means of SMS notifications and the eGov personal account.
A separate fake concerned the transfer of Almaty's water supply and sewerage systems to another company. In reality, the state utility enterprise "Almaty Su" continues to operate as normal and remains the operator of the city's networks.
FALSE DETAILS WERE ADDED TO REAL INCIDENTS
Three further cases concerned events that did actually happen but were accompanied online by inaccurate information.
After Kairat Nurtas's concert in Shymkent, information was circulated about several dead and more than 100 injured. According to the city's health department, eight people sought medical assistance. Seven were released home, and one visitor — an 18-year-old girl — was hospitalised. Her condition was under the observation of specialists.
A fire in the administrative building of the National Scientific Centre for Especially Dangerous Infections also became a pretext for the spread of unconfirmed reports. In particular, attempts were made to link the incident to cases of plague in Russia. The Ministry of Health reported that the specialised laboratories were not affected and that the rooms used for laboratory work were not touched by the fire.
Another report concerned military equipment that had supposedly not returned after international exercises. According to the Ministry of Defence, after the exercises ended on 6 October 2026, the equipment was returned to its permanent deployment locations.
HOW STATE SYMBOLS WERE USED FOR DECEPTION
In October, publications were also identified promising to write off loans and fines amounting to 5 million tenge. The videos were circulated on TikTok, using the state emblem and flag of Kazakhstan, as well as a link to a website imitating an official portal.
After a supposed approval of compensation, the user was invited to log in via Telegram. As a result, such authorisation gave third parties access to the user's account, correspondence and contacts.
The Centre recalled that official websites of Kazakh state bodies are hosted in the .gov.kz domain zone.
Another type of manipulation concerned special mortgage programmes for teachers, doctors and civil servants. Advertisements created the impression that separate state programmes existed for representatives of these professions. However, such offers are often behind companies providing paid mortgage loan consultation services.
HOW GENUINE PHOTOGRAPHS AND VIDEOS WERE USED
In the foreign segment of social media, a video showing servicemen of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan was presented as footage of an armed conflict between foreign states.
However, the Ministry of Defence clarified that the video showed training exercises of servicemen held from June to August 2026 at the Koktal training ground in the Zhetisu region.
In addition, the mass posting of identical publications from fake accounts was identified. Photographs of real people taken from social media were used to create the appearance of public support for unlawful actions, including participation in unauthorised rallies.
