AI-Powered Russian Disinformation Network Expands with Hundreds of Fake News Sites

The article explicitly mentions the use of AI systems (self-hosted, uncensored LLMs based on Meta's Llama 3) to generate fake news and deepfakes as part of a disinformation campaign. This campaign has already produced hundreds of fake news websites spreading false political content, which constitutes harm to communities and democratic processes. The AI system's outputs are central to the incident, making this an AI Incident rather than a hazard or complementary information. The harm is realized and ongoing, not merely potential.

The article explicitly states that CopyCop uses AI-powered large language models (Meta's Llama 3) to create fake news and propaganda, which is then spread through inauthentic websites. This AI-generated disinformation campaign supports pro-Kremlin narratives and targets pro-Western leadership, causing harm to communities by spreading false information and undermining democratic processes. The AI system's development and use are directly linked to the realized harm, fulfilling the criteria for an AI Incident under the OECD framework.

The article explicitly states that CopyCop uses AI-driven content generation via self-hosted large language models to produce pro-Russian and anti-Western narratives. This AI-generated disinformation is actively disseminated through over 300 fake websites, directly harming democratic societies by poisoning the information environment and undermining trust. The harm to communities and violation of rights through misinformation is realized and ongoing. The AI system's use in generating and scaling this harmful content is central to the incident, fulfilling the criteria for an AI Incident rather than a hazard or complementary information.

The use of AI to generate fictional content for a coordinated disinformation campaign directly leads to harm to communities by spreading false narratives and manipulating public opinion, which fits the definition of an AI Incident. The AI system's role in crafting the content is pivotal to the harm caused, and the harm is realized as the campaign is active and ongoing.