The United States (US) has taken action to disrupt a Russian disinformation campaign involving AI-powered bots used to create fake profiles on the social media platform X, the Justice Department announced on Tuesday.
US Disrupts an AI-Powered Bot Campaign on X
The Justice Department detailed in a press statement the seizure of two domain names and investigated 968 social media accounts reportedly operated by Russian actors.
The bots were found to have used AI to create fictitious social media profiles, often posing as individuals from the United States, promoting messages aligned with Russian government objectives.
X, formerly known as Twitter, has voluntarily suspended the remaining bot accounts listed in court documents for violating its terms of service, according to the DOJ.
Attorney General Merrick Garland explained that these measures have halted an AI-driven propaganda effort backed by the Russian government, which utilized a bot farm to disseminate disinformation both in the US and internationally.
He underscored the Justice Department's resolve to counter what he perceives as Russian aggression and protect the American public amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
FBI Director Christopher Wray added that this marks the first time a Russian-sponsored, AI-enhanced social media bot farm has been disrupted.
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The Bot Farm
Court documents reveal that the development of this bot farm was led by an unnamed individual who was said to be deputy editor-in-chief at RT, a state-run Russian news outlet.
In early 2022, RT sought alternative ways to disseminate information, leading the individual to spearhead the bot farm's development. The execution began in April 2022, involving other individuals who concealed their identities and locations in Russia.
By early 2023, with Kremlin approval and funding, FSB Officer 1 established a private intelligence organization (PIO) to support FSB and Russian government goals, including spreading disinformation via bot-created social media accounts, according to the DOJ.
The bot farm reportedly disseminated various Russian narratives on X in late 2023, including videos of Russia's President Vladimir Putin justifying the country's actions in Ukraine and commenting on geopolitical matters.
To register these fake accounts, the bot farm reportedly used private email servers linked to domain names "mlrtr.com" and "otanmail.com," obtained from a US provider.
The Justice Department said these actions violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and federal money laundering laws. However, it is worth noting that the investigation is still ongoing, and more details are expected to be disclosed soon.
"Russia intended to use this bot farm to disseminate AI-generated foreign disinformation, scaling their work with the assistance of AI to undermine our partners in Ukraine and influence geopolitical narratives favorable to the Russian government," Wray said in the statement.
"The FBI is committed to working with our partners and deploying joint, sequenced operations to strategically disrupt our most dangerous adversaries and their use of cutting-edge technology for nefarious purposes," he added.
