Russian Bots Use Fake Tom Cruise for Olympic Disinformation
- AI-generated messaging promotes violent video content
- Accounts aim to play on fears of terrorism in France
The Olympic rings near the Eiffel tower in Paris.
Photographer: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
A pro-Russian propaganda effort is using artificial intelligence as part of a vast operation to suggest that violence is likely to occur at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris, according to Microsoft Corp. findings released Sunday.
One disinformation group used fake AI-generated audio to make it appear as if actor Tom Cruise had narrated a video titled Olympics Has Fallen, modeled after the 2013 action movie Olympus Has Fallen, researchers found. The video, which spread in the fall of 2023, presented itself as a Netflix Inc. documentary, including with the use of Netflix’s signature introduction that the company uses on all of its streaming videos.