Top Line
The Department of Justice claimed on Tuesday that hundreds of Russian AI-enhanced bots posing as Americans and spreading false claims in support of the Kremlin’s policies on Ukraine had recently been identified on Twitter, the latest accusation by the United States that Russia is spreading false claims on American social media platforms.
X suspended its accounts both before and during the police investigation. (Photo courtesy of ALAIN) … [+]
Key Facts
A total of 968 bot accounts created by affiliates of the Russian state-run news network Russia Today were identified and suspended before and during the Justice Department’s investigation, which it said was assisted by the Russian Federal Security Service.
Bots posing as Americans from places like Minneapolis posted videos supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and attempted to justify the war in replies to anonymous American politicians.
Federal authorities said an AI-enhanced software package called Meliorator was used to create the bot specifically for X, but further analysis noted in a joint cybersecurity advisory by the FBI and international partners suggested the software was likely used on other social media platforms as well.
According to the advisory, some of the accounts featured AI-generated profile photos and bios, including political leanings, names and locations, and were designed to spread misinformation, while other accounts with much less profile information were used to drive engagement on other posts through “likes.”
The Russian Embassy and Russia Today did not immediately respond to Forbes’ requests for comment.
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Important Quotes
“Russia used this bot farm to spread AI-generated foreign disinformation and expand its AI-assisted operations in an effort to undermine Ukrainian partners and influence geopolitical narratives favorable to the Russian government,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.
Main Background
Allegations of Russian interference in US social media platforms date back to the 2016 presidential election. At the time, the US alleged that Russian actors sought to undermine the integrity of the election and incite division among Americans through digital propaganda and thousands of fake accounts on sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Federal intelligence agencies later assessed that the bot campaign was aimed at boosting Donald Trump’s 2016 candidacy, but it is not clear whether the effort significantly influenced the election. Similar accusations have continued since then, with US officials alleging that Russia engaged in disinformation campaigns during the 2020 election and against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The State Department has also alleged that Russia tried to cover up its use of chemical weapons during its invasion of Ukraine with disinformation. The Kremlin denies the accusations that it violated the international ban on chemical weapons.
tangent
Bots have long plagued X and Twitter, and the problem has been targeted by the platform’s billionaire owner, Elon Musk. “We’re going to kill spam bots or die trying,” Musk said before buying Twitter for $44 billion. X and Musk said this year that the platform would begin “cleaning our system of bots and trolls,” and that X would identify those behind bot accounts and “bring the force of the law to bear on them.” The full extent of bot activity on X remains unclear, as the platform has yet to release data on bot activity or removals since it began clearing fake accounts and other bot-fighting measures.
References
Musk’s X announces it’s banning bots — how the platform struggled to solve its bot problem (Forbes)
X charges new accounts $1 for basic features like posting in New Zealand and the Philippines (Forbes)
