(NewsWorthy.news) – A Microsoft Threat Analysis Center report has found that Russian influence actors are utilizing artificial intelligence to push disinformation campaigns about the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Russian actors have been using articles, images and fake videos in attempts to stir up fears of violence and discredit the International Olympic Committee since June 2023, according to the report. Storm-1679, one of the Kremlin’s influence actors, used AI-generated audio to imitate actor Tom Cruise’s voice and produce a fake Netflix documentary, dubbed “Olympics Has Fallen”, criticizing the IOC’s leadership.
The video spoofed the company’s corporate branding and used AI-generated effects and fake interviews. The report noted the unusual level of skill and time committed by the influence campaigns. Microsoft’s report found that Storm-1679’s content went beyond defaming the IOC. It noted that the Russian group has also produced numerous “deceptive videos” imitating news outlets and predicting violence at the Olympics.
One video imitated a Brussels-based media outlet and suggested that Parisians were rushing to acquire property insurance ahead of anticipated violence at the games. Another video pretended to be from a French broadcaster and claimed that concerns about potential terrorism resulted in 24% of tickets being returned. Other videos even purported to be press releases from America’s CIA and France’s General Directorate for Internal Security, warning people to avoid the Olympics Games due to the supposed risk of a terrorist attack.
The false Tom Cruise-narrated documentary, which plays on the title of the Gerard Butler film “Olympus Has Fallen”, had falsified five-star ratings from western media outlets. Several actors, including Elijah Wood of “the Lord of the Rings” and “Breaking Bad” star Dean Morris, have been duped in the past into making videos on Cameo for the Storm-1679 group. The videos were then manipulated to present Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a drug addict.
The group has also taken advantage of the Gaza conflict to stoke fear of violence ahead of the Olympic Games. Microsoft concluded that images of graffiti threatening violence against Israelis in attendance, which referenced the 1972 attack at the Munich games, were most likely AI-generated.
Another video boosted by Russian bots purported to be from a ultra-nationalist Turkish group and likewise threatened violence against Israelis. Microsoft stated in the report that it currently lacks sufficient evidence to link the video to a specific actor, but suspects it is connected to the broader campaign of disinformation about the games.
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