A covert Russian government-operated social media bot farm that used generative AI to spread disinformation to global users has been disrupted by a joint FBI-international cybersecurity forces operation.

Affiliates of a Russian state-sponsored media organization Russia Today (RT), used Meliorator — an AI-enabled bot farm generation and management software–to set up over 1000 X (formerly Twitter) bots for spreading disinformation in and about many countries, including the US, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Ukraine, and Israel.

“The social media bot farm used elements of AI to create fictitious social media profiles — often purporting to belong to individuals in the United States — which the operators then used to promote messages in support of Russian government objectives, according to affidavits unsealed today,” the Justice Department said in a press statement.