AI-Powered Tool Meliorator Fuels Russian Disinformation Campaigns on Social Media

Introduction

Russian state-sponsored media organization RT has been using AI-powered software to generate realistic social media personas and spread disinformation for the past two years. This sophisticated tool, known as Meliorator, has been employed to target multiple countries, including the US, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Ukraine, and Israel.

Meliorator's Capabilities

Meliorator is an AI-enabled bot farm generation and management software designed to disseminate disinformation. It creates authentic-looking social media personas en masse, known as "souls," and employs automated scenarios called "thoughts" to carry out various social media actions. These actions include generating original posts, following other users, commenting, reposting, and obtaining followers. The tool replicates disinformation from other automated accounts, spreading false narratives and increasing harmful foreign influence.

The software's features include:

The Meliorator campaign was first observed in 2022. Although initially identified on X, it is designed to expand its functionality to other platforms like Facebook and Instagram. The software has been used to spread disinformation on various topics, notably the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This includes videos of President Putin justifying Russia’s actions in Ukraine and false claims about historical events.

Meliorator’s technical structure involves an administrator panel called 'Brigadir' and a back-end seeding tool named 'Taras.' Users connect via virtual network computing (VNC) connections, and the tool includes measures to avoid detection, such as obfuscating IP addresses and bypassing dual-factor authentication.

International Response and Recommendations

A joint advisory by US, Canadian, and Dutch government agencies has shed light on the operations of Meliorator. The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has announced the seizure of two domain names and 968 social media accounts used in these disinformation campaigns.

To combat such threats, intelligence agencies have recommended several measures for social media platforms, including:

Conclusion

The use of AI-powered software like Meliorator by Russian media highlights the growing sophistication of disinformation campaigns. To counter these threats, robust measures such as stolen credentials detection, darknet monitoring services, dark web surveillance, and digital footprint analysis are crucial. Additionally, brand protection, brand impersonation defense, online risk evaluation, and digital threat scoring are essential components of a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy.

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