U.S. officials said they had taken action against a Russian-run artificial intelligence information operation, including nearly 1,000 accounts pretending to be Americans.
The accounts on X were designed to spread pro-Russian stories, but were automated “bots” rather than real people.
The U.S. Justice Department said in court documents made public on Tuesday that the operation was planned by a deputy editor at the Kremlin-owned Russia Today (formerly Russia Today).
RT operates television channels in English and several other languages, but appears to be more popular on social media than on traditional broadcast television.
The Justice Department seized two websites used to send emails related to bot accounts and ordered X to turn over information related to 968 accounts that investigators said were bots.
According to court documents, artificial intelligence was used to create these accounts and then spread pro-Russian storylines, specifically about the war in Ukraine.
“Today’s operation is the first to disrupt a Russian-sponsored generative AI-enhanced social media bot farm,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray.
“Russia intends to use this robot farm to spread artificial intelligence-generated foreign disinformation, expand the scope of its efforts with the help of artificial intelligence, undermine our partners in Ukraine, and influence geopolitics in favor of the Russian government,” Wray said in the statement. narrative.
The accounts now appear to have been deleted by X, and screenshots shared by FBI investigators show the accounts had few followers.
Court documents detail that the so-called “robot farm” was the brainchild of an RT deputy editor who was looking for new ways to spread stories. RT America was shut down by several major U.S. cable TV providers shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Court documents say another RT employee developed the network and was later joined by a Russian intelligence officer in the operation, which the Justice Department said was an attempt “to sow discord in the United States by spreading misinformation.”
“I am very happy to take care of my farm (villa) – which mainly grows tomatoes and strawberries – but unfortunately without any help from the FSB,” RT deputy editor Anna Belkina told the BBC via email, the Russian security service.
No criminal charges have been made public in the case, but the Justice Department said the investigation is ongoing.
Nina Yankovic, director of the American Sunshine Project, a nonprofit that tries to combat the spread of disinformation, said it was not surprising that Russia-related operations relied on artificial intelligence to create fake accounts.
“This used to be one of the most time-consuming parts of their job; now, thanks to technology, the operation is much smoother.
“Artificial intelligence is now clearly part of the disinformation arsenal,” Ms. Yankovic said.
The BBC contacted X and the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment.
A recent BBC survey Details revealed of another attempt to support Russian disinformation networkthrough fake news sites populated with stories rewritten by artificial intelligence.
