US officials and their allies have identified and taken down an artificial intelligence-powered Russian bot farm comprising almost 1,000 accounts. These accounts were able to spread disinformation and pro-Russian sentiments across X, formerly Twitter. The Justice Department has revealed the scheme was made possible by software created by a digital media department in RT, a Russian state-controlled media outlet. According to a cybersecurity advisory from the FBI, intelligence officers from the Netherlands, and cybersecurity authorities from Canada, it centered on a tool called Meliorator, which can create “authentic appearing social media personas en masse,” generate text messages as well as images and mirror disinformation from other bot personas. For example, one account with the name Ricardo Abbott, which claimed to be from Minneapolis, posted a video of Russian President Vladimir Putin justifying Russia’s actions in Ukraine. The Justice Department is still tracing and trying to find all 968 accounts used by the Russian actors to disseminate false information. X has shared information with authorities on all the identified accounts and has already suspended them. — Mat Smith The biggest stories you might have missed Logitech G launches a new $80 wireless recharging mouse Apple TV’s new Time Bandits show just got a glorious trailer and a July release date Engadget’s guide to the best smart plugs You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe... Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2024-07-10 11:16:59 UTC ]