The Justice Department announced on Tuesday that it has disrupted a Russian internet propaganda campaign supported by the Kremlin. The campaign used artificial intelligence and involved the seizure of nearly 1,000 fake social media accounts. This operation was aimed at spreading disinformation in the United States and creating discord as part of efforts to advance Russian government objectives, including false narratives about the conflict in Ukraine.
According to U.S. officials, the operation was orchestrated in 2022 by a senior editor at RT, a Russian-state funded media outlet registered as a foreign agent. Financial support from the Kremlin was provided, with an officer from Russia’s Federal Security Service leading a private intelligence organization that promoted disinformation through social media. RT did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the allegations.
The disruption of this social media bot farm is significant as concerns grow about the impact of AI technology on American elections. There are ongoing worries that foreign influence campaigns, such as the one in 2016 aimed at swaying the U.S. presidential election, could manipulate public opinion. FBI Director Christopher Wray emphasized the importance of the operation, which aimed to counter AI-generated disinformation spread by Russian-sponsored bots to influence geopolitical narratives.
Among the fake content shared by the deceptive accounts was a video allegedly showing Russian President Vladimir Putin claiming that certain regions of Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania were gifted to these countries by Russian forces during World War II. As part of the disruption effort, the Justice Department took control of two domain names and suspended 968 accounts on X, a social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
The FBI collaborated with the Cyber National Mission Force, the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, and law enforcement in the Netherlands to issue a joint cybersecurity advisory regarding the social media bot farm. This coordinated effort reflects ongoing actions to combat disinformation campaigns and protect democratic processes from foreign interference.
