- The U.S. Department of Justice has seized 32 domains used in the Doppelganger disinformation campaign
- Doppelganger is a large Russian disinformation campaign using AI and involving RT and RaHDit
- In addition to domain seizures, the participants have been arrested and sanctioned
U.S. Department of Justice seized 32 domains after finding them linked to the Russian disinformation campaign Doppelganger.
The campaign utilized cybersquatting and artificial intelligence technologies to generate massive amounts of false content and is aimed at undermining trust in U.S. institutions as well as the upcoming 2024 election.
Doppelganger, AI and Disinformation
The Russian Doppelganger campaign was a global disinformation campaign, part of modern information warfare. It involved the active use of AI to create fake websites, news, and social media conversations with real users to undermine Americans’ confidence in their government apparatus.
FBI Director Christopher Wray commented as follows:
“Today’s announcement exposes the scope of the Russian government’s influence operations and their reliance on cutting-edge AI to sow disinformation. Companies operating at the direction of the Russian government created websites to trick Americans into unwittingly consuming Russian propaganda.”
“Among the methods, Doppelganger used to drive viewership to the cybersquatted and unique media domains was the deployment of ‘influencers’ worldwide, paid social media advertisements (in some cases created using artificial intelligence tools), and the creation of social media profiles posing as U.S. (or other non-Russian) citizens to post comments on social media platforms with links to the cybersquatted domains.”
Sanctions Against RT and RaHDit Hacktivists
At the same time, the US Treasury Department announced sanctions against two Russian companies and ten individuals involved in the Doppelganger operation. In particular, among them are high-ranking employees of the RT TV channel, such as Elizaveta Brodskaya and Anton Anisimov, as well as RaHDit activists.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen emphasized:
“Today’s action underscores the U.S. government’s ongoing efforts to hold state-sponsored actors accountable for activities that aim to deteriorate public trust in our institutions. Treasury will not waver in our commitment to safeguarding our democratic principles and the integrity of our election systems.”
These measures are aimed at deterring further attempts to interfere in U.S. elections and weakening the position of those involved in creating and disseminating false information through digital platforms.
Conclusion
Information warfare is a known method in global politics, but the internet has taken it to a new level and AI has turned things around.
Anyone with a laptop can now create disinformation on a previously unimaginable scale and with staggering accuracy, and thereby affect the economy and politics of the entire nation.
Such an operation by the US Department of Justice will not eliminate this phenomenon, but it is still a big victory for them.
