How Russian spies are using new technology to spread disinformation and meddle in Western elections

Election interference using AI has already begun (Pictures: Getty/Reuters/AP)

Ukraine’s national security advisor has accused Russia of using artificial intelligence to spread disinformation about Western elections.

Oleksiy Danilov told The Times that Russian spies have developed an AI tool that is allowing Moscow to meddle in UK and US elections on an exponential scale – threatening democracy.

It comes as worries of election interference using artificial intelligence have been raised after an AI version of Joe Biden told people not to vote on election day.

Around half of the world’s population is expected to vote this year in elections around the globe – more than any previous year.

And Russian spies are using a large amount of elections in 2024 to sow seeds of disinformation before voters head to the polls.

Mr Danilov warned of the risks: ‘Artificial intelligence is a huge step forward for Russia and it makes the impact [of their meddling] exponentially greater.’

2024 is a large election year: and meddling has already begun (Picture: AFP)

What tools are Russian spies using?

Russian spies are using a plethora of techniques and platforms to spread their narrative.

These range from traditional social media, such as Telegram, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, to more targeted approaches using artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence has allowed those online to create text, audio, photos, and videos to make it appear as though candidates are saying things they never actually said.

One terrifying instance of this happened in January when a deepfake video of Joe Biden urging Americans not to vote in November spread online.

The Guardian cited fake audio recordings in Slovakia which may have swayed the elections there, and AI versions of dead politicians brought back to compliment elected officials in India.

These are all examples of tools that can be used to spread fake information and mislead voters.

Ukraine has been targeted in particular by Russian disinformation, as the war rages on (Picture: AP)

What kind of disinformation are they spreading?

Mr Danilov has said that the Kremlin has a specific unit dedicated to every country holding an election in Europe to spread disinformation.

36 million disinformation posts have been shared on social media by Russia, aiming to discredit senior Ukrainian officials, divide political and military unity and demoralise the army and public.

Fake statistics over casualties in the Russia-Ukrainian war have also been spread to sow distrust and war fatigue in Ukrainian citizens, Mr Danilov said.

He said: ‘For years, countries preferred to take the Chamberlain route, thinking it better to close their eyes and ignore the warning signs. That lack of principle is what has led to the situation we are in now.’

Disinformation regarding war casualties is one example of fake news spread online by Russian bots (Picture: Reuters)

Misinformation vs Disinformation: what’s the difference?

Misinformation and disinformation may sound similar but are quite different in terms of the intent behind it.

Misinformation is fake news that is spread by a mistake or someone who may not realise that the information is inaccurate.

This could be someone getting the date wrong on an event and sharing it, or getting casualty numbers initially wrong after a shooting.

Disinformation, however, is fake news that is spread deliberately to trick people and sway them in a certain direction.

An example of severe disinformation gone wrong is Pizzagate, a conspiracy theory that claimed the NYPD had discovered a pedophilia ring linked to members of the Democrat party.

Comet Ping Pong, a pizza place in Washington DC, became the centre of the controversy after a man came to the establishment with a gun to ‘investigate’ the conspiracy theory.

Comet Ping Pong fell victim to a campaign of disinformation which resulted in a man appearing with a gun (Picture: The Washington Post)

How to spot disinformation in news articles and on social media

The story: have you read the whole story? When was it posted, and has it been widely reported?

The author: is the article an opinion article, or hard news article? Most real news links to the author’s information page – are they real?

The website: are there spelling or grammar mistakes in the article or social media post? Check the URL – is it legitimate? Most trustworthy URLs end in the following: .com, .co.uk, .net, .gov, .org, .mil and .edu

The date: when was the story published, and is it still accurate?

How to spot AI-generated disinformation online

Context: inspect the article for poor grammar and composition – and check the photo quality.

The imagery: is the image too weird to be real? Search the context online and see if other legitimate news sites have reported on it.

Distortion: in deepfake images and videos, hands and fingers are often rendered poorly. Are they distorted? Check to make sure. The voice and facial expressions may also seem robotic – make sure to pay attention.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.