Key Takeaways:
The US government disrupted a Russian disinformation effort that used artificial intelligence-powered bots to create fake social media profiles on X, officials said on Tuesday.
According to court documents unsealed Tuesday by the Department of Justice, an editor at a Russian state media outlet developed software to create a bot farm as part of a project funded by a member of the Federal Security Service, or FSB.
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From June to December, nearly 1,000 accounts were part of a campaign that impersonated Americans and promoted pro-Russian government messaging.
Details of the Disinformation Campaign
One profile claimed to be a user based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who joined X in June 2023. That account posted a purported video of Russian President Vladimir Putin saying that parts of Poland, Ukraine, and Lithuania became part of Russia following World War II.
Another profile identified as “Sue Williamson”, living in Gresham, Oregon, posted a video that disputed the number of foreign fighters embedded with Ukrainian troops.
I thought Muck has implemented safe guards against bot accounts?
— Nick Davis (@alt_world) July 9, 2024
According to the Justice Department, X voluntarily suspended the bot accounts identified in the court documents for terms of service violations. The company didn’t respond to a request for comment.
According to an affidavit included in the government filings, the bot farm was organized by an individual who worked in 2022 as the deputy editor-in-chief at RT, a Russian government-funded media agency. The documents didn’t disclose the identity of the individual.
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Involvement of RT and the FSB
That person continues to work at RT and, since 2023, has led a digital media department. That’s where the software for the bot farm was developed, according to the US.
According to the affidavit, a Russian intelligence officer approved and funded the project. “Farming is a beloved pastime for millions of Russians,” an RT spokesperson said in a statement.
People associated with the bot farm also transferred funds internationally to purchase two domain names from a US-based company in order to create private email servers, the court filings said.
Weird I thought Elon vowed to shut them down when it bought this app and tanked its value by 90%
— The Saurus (@TheSaurus831) July 9, 2024
Those were used to create email addresses that enabled the creation of at least 968 fictitious social media accounts, according to the US government.
Additionally, the FBI and partners, including the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, the Netherlands General Intelligence and Security Service, and the Netherlands Police, released a joint cybersecurity advisory detailing the technology behind the social media bot farm.
Ah yes, because everybody takes unverified accounts with 25 followers and many numbers in their name utterly seriously when it comes to political discussion.
— aean (@aean0x) July 9, 2024
This disruption is part of broader efforts by the US and its allies to counter foreign influence operations and safeguard democratic processes.
The sophisticated nature of the AI-enhanced disinformation campaign underscores the evolving threats posed by advanced technologies in information warfare.
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