US officials announce the takedown of an AI-powered Russian bot farm

US officials and their allies have identified and taken down an artificial intelligence-powered Russian bot farm comprised of almost 1,000 accounts, which spread disinformation and pro-Russian sentiments on X. The Justice Department has revealed the the scheme that was made possible by software was created by a digital media department within RT, a Russian state-controlled media outlet. Its development was apparently led by RT's deputy editor-in-chief back in 2022 and was approved and funded by an officer at Russia's Federal Security Service, the main successor of the KGB.  In a cybersecurity advisory issued by the FBI, intelligence officers from the Netherlands and cybersecurity authorities from Canada, they specifically mentioned 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. Authorities have seized two domains that the operation used to create email addresses that were necessary to sign up for accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter, which served as home to the bots.  The Justice Department, however, is still in the midst of finding all 968 accounts used by the Russian actors to disseminate false information. X has shared information with authorities on all the identified accounts so far and has already suspended them. As The Washington Post has noted, the bots slipped through X's safeguards, because they can copy-paste OTPs... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2024-07-10 05:40:34 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "US officials announce the takedown of an AI-powered Russian bot farm"


Eastside startup to rollout digital media service with Woodinville Weekly

Eastside Media Corp. was founded by Eric LaFontaine, former Puget Sound Business Journal Publisher Mike Flynn and former USA Today Sports Vice President Patrick Scanlon. Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2019-08-16 05:46:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Meet the 2019 FUSE Media Summit Advisory Board

The FUSE Media Summit returns this Nov. 19-21, once again connecting digital media and technology executives for 2 ½ days of expert insights, boardroom case studies, and peer-to-peer discussion. To develop an impactful program, we're working closely with a group of all-star advisors that... Continue reading at Publishing Executive

[ Publishing Executive | 2019-08-13 16:55:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Verizon unloads Tumblr in deal with WordPress owner

Verizon has announced the sale of Tumblr, the fallen online community left over from the Yahoo acquisition, to the owner of WordPress, the website publishing company. On Monday, Verizon Media said it was unloading Tumblr, but did not disclose the terms of the deal. Axios reported the sale was... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-08-12 22:12:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Agency Brief: WPP revenue rises but profits dip in first half; MediaMonks ramps up production

WPP reports its second-quarter earnings on Friday,with some better-than-expected surprises. The company sees its revenue return to growth, up 1.6 percent in the first half of the year and 2.3 percent in the second quarter. In North America, revenue rises 0.4 percent in the second quarter but... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-08-09 19:31:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Yet another brutal week for American journalism

On Wednesday, without prior warning, Pacific Standard, an award-winning magazine that has done substantive journalism on environmental and social justice, announced its imminent closure. The Social Justice Foundation, a nonprofit backed by SAGE, an academic publisher, yanked its funding from... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2019-08-09 12:12:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this


How Hearst’s Product Team Helps Build Audience, Revenues

“We don’t do anything without an audience opportunity and a revenue opportunity,” Robertson Barrett, President of Digital Media at Hearst Newspapers, Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2019-08-08 15:06:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Cisco names Dentsu's Isobar its digital marketing innovation agency of record

Cisco has added Dentsu Aegis Network's Isobar to its roster of agencies, naming it digital marketing innovation agency of record (say that 10 times fast). Under the partnership, Isobar has signed onto a one-year retainer contract with the IT, professional networking and cybersecurity solutions... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-08-06 18:07:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this


UM promotes Deidre Smalls-Landau to U.S. chief marketing officer

IPG Mediabrands’ UM has promoted Deidre Smalls-Landau to U.S. chief marketing officer, effective immediately. She will retain her current position as global head of culture while adding oversight of UM’s strategic branding, platforms and initiatives to her remit. Since joining IPG Mediabrands... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-08-06 16:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


SmartNews becomes first unicorn media startup since 2015

It’s a challenging time in the digital media industry. BuzzFeed Inc. and Vice Media Inc., which defined a generation of news SmartNews Inc. announced Sunday a new investment valuing the business at... To view the full story, click the title link. Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2019-08-05 20:24:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this


SmartNews becomes first unicorn news startup since 2015

It’s a challenging time in the digital media industry. BuzzFeed Inc. and Vice Media Inc., which defined a generation of news SmartNews Inc. announced Sunday a new investment valuing the business at... To view the full story, click the title link. Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2019-08-05 20:24:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Snap Inc. Poaches P&G’s Craig Stimmel for Its Global Head of Brand Role

Snap Inc. turned to the consumer-packaged-goods sector to fill its new global head of brand role, tapping Procter & Gamble head of digital media and global partnerships Craig Stimmel. Stimmel revealed that he was leaving P&G in a LinkedIn post earlier this week, but he did not indicate... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2019-08-02 18:24:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Future Plc Acquires SmartBrief for $45 to $65 Million

Future plc has acquired Washington, D.C.-based online B2B publisher SmartBrief, the latest move in a string of purchases aimed at expanding the London-based media giant's presence in the U.S. Expected to close on Wednesday, the agreement involves an initial purchase price of $45 million—funded... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2019-07-30 16:09:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Drake is bringing LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s Uninterrupted to Canada

This marks the first international expansion of the athlete-centric digital media startup. Four years after its initial 2015 founding, LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s digital media startup Uninterrupted is expanding beyond American borders for the first time. James and Carter have struck a... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2019-07-30 11:00:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this


How Google Is Thinking About Its Upcoming Changes for User Privacy

Earlier this year, Google outlined upcoming changes to its marketing-leading Chrome browser that are likely to prompt seismic changes for digital media trading with the company's leading privacy executive tipping the privacy overhaul for a 2019 launch. Speaking last week at Adweek's inaugural... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2019-07-29 18:27:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Investors Say Data Ambiguity Is Dampening Ad Tech’s Luster

As ad-tech outfits face a tighter and tighter squeeze from industry consolidation and impending regulations surrounding data privacy, investors are starting to take notice and funnel their dollars elsewhere. This was the sentiment heard across the stage at Adweek's NexTech Conference this week,... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2019-07-26 18:48:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Vice UK staff unionise and urge other online media to follow suit

Move comes after four months of discussions and previous attempt three years agoVice UK has become one of the first British digital media publications to unionise, with staff urging other online-only media outlets to follow their lead while the industry is in turmoil amid financial struggles and... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-07-25 17:53:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Pampers’ new smart diapers give parents smartphone pee alerts: Marketer’s Brief

Welcome to the latest edition of Marketer's Brief, a quick take on marketing news, moves and trends from Ad Age's reporters and editors. Send tips/suggestions to [email protected]. Internet of things, meet the baby’s bottom: Parents too busy looking at their smartphones to pay attention to... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-07-24 20:54:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this


No ratings bump for Norah O’Donnell’s first week as ‘CBS Evening News’ anchor

The numbers for Norah O’Donnell’s historic first week as the anchor of “CBS Evening News” are in, and despite leaving no stone unturned on the promotional front, the new-look newscast didn’t make any progress on the ratings front. According to Nielsen live-plus-same-day data, the first five... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-07-24 19:58:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Bustle Digital Group Acquires Tech and Science Site Inverse

Bryan Goldberg is making additional moves in digital media. Goldberg's Bustle Digital Group has acquired Inverse, a tech- and science-focused website, the company said today. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed. The acquisition represents yet another for Goldberg and BDG, which... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2019-07-23 17:51:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Sports media is going direct to consumer—and Copa90 wants to be the Glossier of soccer

Digital media company Copa90 created clubhouses in Paris and Lyon to give its brand a boost IRL just like physical retail helps D2C startups grow. As the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, Ada Hegerberg is the best female soccer player on the planet. But the Norwegian star, who plays professionally in... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2019-07-20 07:00:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this