Propagandists in China, Iran, and Russia are using artificial intelligence to create deceptive content targeting Americans ahead of the November election, according to federal intelligence officials. While AI has made it easier to create disinformation, it has not fundamentally changed the way these actors operate. The use of AI in disinformation efforts is seen as an accelerant rather than a revolutionary tool. The U.S. intelligence community noted that adversaries struggle to avoid detection by AI companies and have not developed advanced AI models of their own, limiting their ability to disseminate AI-generated content effectively.
Russia has the largest disinformation operation targeting the election, creating AI-generated text, images, audio, and video content. Despite this, Russia still relies on human actors for some videos, as seen in a staged video of a fake attack on a Trump supporter. Iran’s influence operations focus on hurting Trump’s campaign, while China engages in general anti-democracy influence operations without pushing for a specific candidate. Russia, on the other hand, supports Trump over any Democratic candidate due to his policy positions on Ukraine.
Overall, federal officials have accused Russia of funding media companies and maintaining fake news sites to influence American voters, while Iran was behind a hack targeting Trump’s campaign. Russian propagandists have a more sophisticated understanding of American politics compared to Iran, with Iranian actors focusing on divisive issues like immigration while Russia targets swing state voters. Both Russia and Iran have denied any wrongdoing.
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