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DOJ disrupts X AI bot farm spreading Russian misinformation

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  • 3 min read

Photo: Ascannio / Shutterstock.com

The US Department of Justice has seized two domains and announced the search of 968 X accounts used by Russian actors to create an AI-based social media bot farm spreading misinformation in the US, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Ukraine.

The announcement is the result of a joint operation run by the US FBI and Cyber National Mission Force (CNMF) in partnership with the Netherlands General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD), Netherlands Military Intelligence, and
Security Service (MIVD), the Netherlands Police (DNP), and the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS). The investigation revealed a tool called Meliorator that was being used to influence narratives on X at a large scale with the help of AI.

The DOJ’s statement also didn’t mix words, clearly stating that “Russia’s State-Run RT News Network Developed and Federal Security Service Operated the Artificial Intelligence-Enhanced Bot Farm to Disseminate Disinformation to Sow Discord in the United States and Elsewhere.”

This is an image of fake news misinformation disinformation

Although the tool was only identified as active on X, analysis indicates that the developers intended to expand functionality to other social media platforms. As for its capabilities, the investigation revealed the following:

  • Creating authentic social media personas en masse
  • Deploying content similar to typical social media users
  • Mirroring disinformation of other bot personas
  • Perpetuating the use of pre-existing false narratives to amplify malign foreign influence
  • Formulating messages to include the topic and framing based on the specific archetype of the bot

The threat actors operating the tool were found to be affiliated with a Russian state-backed media organisation called RT or Russia Today. The tool also has an administrative panel called Brigadir that acts as the primary graphical user interface for Meliorator and provides administrative control over it.

Brigadir worked with another software package named Taras, which was the back end of the overall package. Taras is a collection of .json files used to control the “personas sowing disinformation on social media.” The files are also highly decentralised.

According to affidavits filed for the seizure, the bot farm was controlled by a Russian FSB officer, a Meliorator developer, and members of a private intelligence organisation with “the approval and financial support of the Presidential Administration of Russia.” Since then, X has suspended the identified bot accounts, but the government agencies have asked other social media platforms to remain vigilant and assist with identifying any fake or bot accounts that might help reduce “Russian malign foreign influence activity.”

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Yadullah Abidi

Yadullah Abidi

Yadullah is a Computer Science graduate who writes/edits/shoots/codes all things cybersecurity, gaming, and tech hardware. When he's not, he streams himself racing virtual cars. He's been writing and reporting on tech and cybersecurity with websites like Candid.Technology and MakeUseOf since 2018. You can contact him here: yadullahabidi@pm.me.

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