Russia operated nearly 1,000 sock puppet accounts on X, Justice Department says
The Russian flag in front of the Kremlin's Spasskaya Tower in Moscow. Igor' Ivanko / Sipa USA via AP file
NBC News
The U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday it had uncovered and dismantled a Russian propaganda network with nearly 1,000 accounts pushing pro-Russia posts on the social media platform X.
The accounts on X posed as Americans, including a bitcoin investor in Minneapolis, but in reality they were masks for Russian operatives who had the approval and financial support of the Kremlin, the Justice Department said in court affidavits and in a news release.
The Russian operatives made the fictitious accounts with the help of artificial intelligence, which made it easier to produce images and generate text, the department said.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the network was a bot farm used to spread disinformation in the U.S. and abroad, including about Russia’s claims to Ukraine.
READ THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCEMENT IN ITS ENTIRETY
READ THE JOINT CYBERSECURITY ADVISORY IN ITS ENTIRETY
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