Representatives of the U.S. Department of Justice noted that a similar bot farm was launched using software developed by the digital media department of RT, a Russian-controlled outlet. The development was allegedly led by RT's deputy editor-in-chief back in 2022, and approved and funded by an officer of the Russian Federal Security Service.
The bot farm was reportedly created and operated using the Meliorator tool, which used artificial intelligence to create authentic X accounts, generate text and images, and mirror disinformation from other bots.
The Ministry of Justice is still looking for all 968 accounts used by Russians to spread disinformation. All accounts that have already been identified have been blocked.
A large number of already identified bot profiles posed as Americans, using appropriate names and establishing their location in different parts of the United States.
One such account in X posted a video in which Putin justified Russia's actions in Ukraine, while another account posted a video in which Putin said that the war was not a territorial conflict but a matter of principles on which the world order would be based. The activity on these posts was later boosted by other bots on the network.
"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," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. "The FBI is committed to working with our partners and deploying joint, sequenced operations to strategically disrupt our most dangerous adversaries and their use of cutting-edge technology for nefarious purposes."
Earlier, it was also reported that the X platform was limiting Bellingcat's investigation into the Russian X-101 missile strike on Okhmatdyt in Kyiv.