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It’s time to confront Russian disinformation!
Vladimir Bondarenko, a blogger from Kiev who “hates the Ukrainian government,” and Irina Kerimova, a teacher from Kharkiv, DO NOT EXIST.
They are just two of hundreds of social media profiles replicating Russia’s propaganda message. Their images are deepfakes, generated by generative networks (deep machine learning models, or artificial intelligence models).
Russia uses a variety of disinformation strategies, many of which are not that sophisticated.
It is a well-known case that TikTok “influencers” from Russia in their “stories” tell exactly the same story, word for word! It is therefore not a form of propaganda that can be considered particularly sophisticated. However, there is no doubt that Russia will continue to use it.
This is why the West should also learn to do this this, first of all:
1) By effectively neutralizing the threats of Russian propaganda
2) By responding offensively with the same weapons.
Just a few days ago, Facebook removed 40 profiles linked to the disinformation operation, claiming they were a small part of a larger personality-building operation that has spread across Twitter, Instagram, Telegram and Russian social networks. Twitter, meanwhile, said it had blocked 12 accounts that posted…