International Law Enforcement Operation Takes Down Russian AI-Powered Bot Farm on X

• A US-led international has taken down accounts on X controlled by a Russian bot farm.
• The bot farm used Meliorator, an AI-embedded software designed for use on social media networks, to create ‘authentic’ appearing personas en masse based on specific archetypes or parameters.

An international law enforcement operation led by the US Justice Department has taken down almost a thousand X (formerly Twitter) accounts controlled by a large bot farm and domains used to register the bots. 

Since 2022, the bot farm has actively pushed Russian propaganda and disseminated disinformation targeting X users across the globe using Meliorator, an AI-embedded software. It was organized and managed by a deputy editor-in-chief at the Russian state-run media outlet Russia Today (RT) and a Russian FSB officer.

RT affiliates used the AI-embedded software to create genuine-looking social media accounts from various countries worldwide to amplify false narratives and malign foreign influence on the social media platform. The bot farm allowed RT to spread information that align with RT’s leadership’s goal to expand information distribution beyond traditional TV telecasts.

The Department of Justice-led (DoJ) operation seized the bot farm, which registered new X bots using private email servers at the otanmail[.]com and mlrtr[.]com domains. Besides the DoJ’s action, X removed 968 social media profiles identified as being part of RT’s bot farm.

The FBI said, “As early as 2022, RT had access to Meliorator, an AI-enabled bot farm generation and management software to disseminate disinformation to and about several countries, including the United States, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Ukraine, and Israel.”

Christopher Wray, director at FBI, said, “Today’s actions represent a first in disrupting a Russian-sponsored Generative AI-enhanced social media bot farm.”

“Russia intended to use this bot farm to disseminate AI-generated foreign disinformation, scaling their work with the assistance of AI to undermine our partners in Ukraine and influence geopolitical narratives favorable to the Russian government,” he further said.

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More About Meliorator

Meliorator is designed for use on social media networks to create ‘authentic’ appearing personas en masse based on specific archetypes or parameters. It allows the creation of real-looking social media content and the propagation of disinformation, which could assist Russia in exacerbating discord and trying to alter public opinion as part of information operations.

Threat actors also had access to automated scenarios or actions that could be completed on behalf of the bot groups. The software worked only on X until June 2024. However, according to analysis, its operators would likely expand its functionality to support more platforms.

The bot farm’s takedown highlights the increased use of artificial intelligence in state-sponsored disinformation campaigns. According to a statement given to The New York Times by Bret Schafer, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund, “For every influence they catch, there are likely many, many more that have evaded detection.”

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