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 ]

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The death of Jezebel is the end of an era of feminism. We’re worse off without it

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[ The Guardian | 2023-11-11 12:00:36 UTC ]
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BuzzFeed in Advanced Talks to Sell Complex, Backtracking on Digital Media Bet

BuzzFeed is negotiating a sale of much of Complex Networks for under $140 million, less than half of what it paid to acquire it two years ago. Continue reading at The New York Times

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Horizon Forbidden West battles its way to PCs in 2024

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[ Engadget | 2023-09-27 17:26:58 UTC ]
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StrongVPN review: Simpler doesn’t always mean better

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Media Briefing: How digital publishers spent summer 2023 

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Troubles for property insurers spells more losses at Digital Media Solutions

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[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2023-08-16 10:33:50 UTC ]
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As Digital Media Falters, Betches Hits Its Stride, Expanding Headcount and Revenue Streams

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Twitter’s rebrand to X could worsen its legal and financial problems

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How Vice Media Went Bankrupt

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Alight Media takes top digital media outreach spot from Global

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The Morning After: Xbox Series S gets a key upgrade

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