The US Department of Justice has disrupted a Russian-backed operation employing fake social media accounts empowered by AI to covertly distribute pro-Kremlin messages in the US and globally.

The development, occurring just months before the US presidential election, is seen as an anticipatory move against potential hacking and covert influence endeavors by foreign actors during the election. US officials are vigilant about identifying and thwarting any plots seeking to disrupt the electoral process.

The DOJ obtained court approval to seize two domain names and investigate around 1,000 social media accounts suspected of being associated with this operation.

Attorney General Merrick Garland stated, "With these measures, the Justice Department has thwarted a Russian-government-supported propaganda campaign leveraging AI and a bot farm to disseminate misinformation in the United States and beyond."

This recent action marks the first instance where the US has publicly accused a foreign government of utilizing generative AI for an influence operation - as pointed out by DOJ and FBI officials. Authorities caution that adversaries may exploit the capabilities of AI systems to magnify efforts in spreading false information.

Kremlin-funded effort

According to prosecutors, the operation in question was established through a private Russian intelligence organization, comprising Russian intelligence officials and a senior employee from the government-funded Russian news outlet, Russia Today (RT). The initiative received approval and financing from the Kremlin in early 2023, as per DOJ disclosures.

Representatives of the Russian embassy in Washington and RT did not provide any comments in response to inquiries.

This private organization engineered a specialized AI-driven platform to generate, manage, and oversee numerous fictitious social media profiles resembling genuine American accounts, as outlined in court records.

The social media accounts on platform X have been removed. These accounts frequently shared pro-Kremlin viewpoints, featured videos of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and criticized the government of Ukraine.

The investigative efforts involved collaboration with Dutch authorities. The operation was coordinated from a server located in the Netherlands, according to the investigation.