Russian state broadcaster RT broadcast from near Red Square during the 2018 Moscow World Cup. The Justice Department alleges that RT employees were behind an effort to use AI to create fake social media profiles of Americans to spread Russian propaganda in the United States.
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images/Getty Images Europe
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Christopher Furlong/Getty Images/Getty Images Europe
The Department of Justice announced that it has disrupted a Russian propaganda operation that used fake, artificial intelligence-powered social media accounts to spread disinformation in the United States and other countries.
The bot farm used AI to create profiles impersonating Americans on X (formerly Twitter) and posting messages of support for Russia’s war in Ukraine and other pro-Kremlin rhetoric.
It was part of a Kremlin-approved and funded project run by Russian intelligence agents. The bot farm itself, and the AI software behind it, were organized by anonymous editors at Russian state-run media outlet RT, the Justice Department alleges.
Intelligence and security officials have warned that Russia is stepping up its propaganda efforts during a busy global election year, aimed at undermining international support for Ukraine and discrediting opponents of democracy. The Kremlin has long used fake social media accounts to stomp discord and advance its own interests.
Now, advances in AI technology that can quickly and easily generate realistic text, images, audio, and video have raised concerns that these tools could be used to mass-produce propaganda and disinformation. Recently, Meta, the owner of Facebook, and OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, announced they had identified foreign influence campaigns using AI to manipulate citizens, including some linked to Russia.
“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 views in favor of the Russian government,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.
RT has long advocated for Russian government policies to an international audience, including in the U.S. But the outlet’s influence has declined since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which prompted the European Union to ban access to Russian state-run media outlets and tech companies such as TikTok, Facebook and Google.
The Justice Department said Tuesday that RT was seeking alternative distribution channels and that the bot farms were part of that effort.
Asked to comment on the allegations, RT’s press office said: “Agriculture is a beloved pastime for millions of Russians.”
The Justice Department said about 1,000 fake accounts on Twitter (formerly known as X) were part of a Russian campaign, including one claiming to be from Minneapolis who posted a video of Russian President Vladimir Putin justifying Russia’s actions in Ukraine and claiming that parts of Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania were “gifts” from the Russian military after World War II.
According to the Department of Justice, X suspended the account for violating its terms of use. It is unclear how many people followed the fake account or interacted with its posts. X did not respond to a request for comment.
The Department of Justice also seized two domain names that the bot farm used to create email accounts that were used to set up fake X accounts.
