Experts say the Kremlin may use artificial intelligence (AI) in its plans to influence the November presidential election.
The US Justice Department last week unveiled the indictments, which were part of an ongoing investigation into alleged Russian government plots to influence American voters through a variety of misinformation campaigns.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland unveiled a major crackdown on influencers operating through state media and other online platforms — part of a campaign dubbed “doppelganger.” He focused on employees of Russian state-controlled media outlet RT, but other indictments issued this week showed the broader scope and complexity of Russia’s initiative.
The US has also seized more than two dozen internet domains related to the operation and formed an election threat task force, which includes FBI Director Christopher Wray and top Justice Department officials. According to CBS News,
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“This is extremely serious, and we will treat it accordingly,” Garland said. announcement of indictment Wednesday with Ray.
FBI Director Christopher Wray (right) speaks during a meeting of the Justice Department’s Election Threat Task Force at the Justice Department in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, September 4, 2024, as Attorney General Merrick Garland looks on. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Those prosecutions include Alleged use of AI tools It is used to create social media profiles “posing as American (or other non-Russian) citizens” and to give the impression of “the website of a legitimate news media outlet”.
“The methods used by Doppelganger to attract audiences to the cybersquatted and unique media domains included the deployment of “influencers” around the world, paid social media advertisements (in some cases created using artificial intelligence tools), and the creation of social media profiles posing as U.S. (or other non-Russian) citizens to post comments on social media platforms with links to the cybersquatted domains,” the indictment states.
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Russia’s “doppelganger” operation seeks to manipulate the November presidential election through influence schemes using deep fake content, among other methods. (iStock)
US Treasury Department These allegations were discussed in detail An announcement designated 10 individuals and two entities under the Office of Foreign Assets Control, allowing the US to impose visa restrictions and awards of up to $10 million in judgment related to such actions.
The Treasury reported that Russian state-sponsored actors have used generative AI deep fakes and misinformation “to undermine confidence in the United States electoral process and institutions.”
The Treasury has approved the Russian non-profit autonomous non-profit organization (ANO) Dialog and ANO Dialog Regions “Deep Fake Content developing Russian disinformation campaigns,” including “fake online posts on popular social media accounts … that would consist of fake documents along with other content to elicit an emotional response from audiences.”
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In late 2023, ANO Dialogue reportedly “identified the US, UK and others as potential targets for deepfake projects.” The “War on Fakes” website served as a major outlet for spreading this fake information, which also used bot accounts that targeted polling places in the US 2024 election.
Investigative journalist Christo Grozev believes that the Kremlin was “losing to the West” in the early months of the invasion of Ukraine, which led to the decision to use AI and “all kinds of new methods to make it indistinguishable from the regular flow of information”. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Unfinished Live)
One Interview for PBS News HourBelgian investigative journalist Christo Grozev revealed that complaints over a “global propaganda effort by Russia” – which the Kremlin was “losing to the West” in the early months of the invasion of Ukraine – led to the decision to use AI and “all kinds of new methods to make it indistinguishable from the regular flow of information”.
“They plan to insert advertising, which is actually disguised as news, and thus the target population is bombarded with things that are mistaken for news, but are actually advertising materials,” Grozev explained.
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“They plan to hide that ad content on a person-by-person level as if it were content from their favorite news sites,” he warned. “Right now, we haven’t seen it in action, but it’s an intent, and they claim they’ve developed the technology to do it.”
“They’re very clear that they’re not going to use a platform related to Russia or even a different platform,” he said. “They’re going to infiltrate a platform that the target is already using. And that’s what’s scary.”
