Ars Technica: Report: Terrorists seem to be paying X to generate propaganda with Grok. “… Musk’s social media platform X is suspected of taking payments from sanctioned terrorists and providing premium features that make it easier to raise funds and spread propaganda—including through X’s chatbot, Grok. Groups seemingly benefiting from X include Houthi rebels, Hezbollah, and Hamas, as […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/05/18/report-terrorists-seem-to-be-paying-x-to-generate-propaganda-with-grok-ars-technica/

Odessa Journal: Russia Today is bypassing sanctions and spreading pro-Kremlin propaganda in Italy. “Despite European Union sanctions prohibiting the broadcasting and distribution of content by the Kremlin-controlled RT (formerly Russia Today) channel, its materials continue to be actively spread in Italy, according to an investigation by the ISD analytical center, which uncovered systematic […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/05/17/odessa-journal-russia-today-is-bypassing-sanctions-and-spreading-pro-kremlin-propaganda-in-italy/

New Voice of Ukraine: Ukraine turns to TikTok to pierce Russian control behind enemy lines. “TikTok became an effective alternative channel of delivering information to residents of the Russian-occupied territories (TOT) of Ukraine after YouTube was blocked, Radio Donbas Realities editor Tetyana Yakubovych said on May 9 at the 17th annual Kyiv Security Forum (KSF) titled UA: Unite Again to […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/05/13/new-voice-of-ukraine-ukraine-turns-to-tiktok-to-pierce-russian-control-behind-enemy-lines/

https://www.europesays.com/2071477/ Outcome of India-Pakistan conflict: Much to be pleased about, much to learn | Latest News India #BalakotStrike #clash #conflict #Conflicts #India #IndiaPakistan #IndiaPakistanClash #IndiaPakistanConflict #IndiaPakistanWar #IndusWatersTreaty #InformationWar #pakistan #TerroristStrikesConsequences #VictoryInConflict #war

France 24: Russia behind dozens of disinformation campaigns targeting Ukraine and allies, France says. “French authorities on Wednesday identified nearly 80 Russian disinformation campaigns from August 2023 to March 2025, primarily targeting Ukraine and its allies, including France. Agency Viginum said the ‘Storm-1516’ operation used AI, paid operators, and spread anti-Ukrainian narratives, […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/05/11/france-24-russia-behind-dozens-of-disinformation-campaigns-targeting-ukraine-and-allies-france-says/

The Hacker News: Claude AI Exploited to Operate 100+ Fake Political Personas in Global Influence Campaign. “The sophisticated activity, branded as financially-motivated, is said to have used its AI tool to orchestrate 100 distinct personas on the two social media platforms, creating a network of ‘politically-aligned accounts’ that engaged with ’10s of thousands’ of authentic accounts.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/05/08/the-hacker-news-claude-ai-exploited-to-operate-100-fake-political-personas-in-global-influence-campaign/

Timothy Snyder summing up Russia's relationship to NATO from 1999 to 2010 (paragraph-length quote): https://markstoneman.com/2025/05/07/timothy-snyder-summing-up-russias.html

The Sunday Times: How Russia is using Gaelic and AI to peddle disinformation in Scotland. “For more than a decade, Kremlin agencies and their proxies have been pushing stories they believe will help undermine western democracies and promote the talking points of the Putin regime, especially on Ukraine. However, it is new to see this kind of content aimed at Scottish audiences in a minority […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/05/04/the-sunday-times-how-russia-is-using-gaelic-and-ai-to-peddle-disinformation-in-scotland/

ABC News (Australia): Pro-Russian influence operation targeting Australia in lead-up to election with attempt to ‘poison’ AI chatbots. “A largely automated pro-Russian news website has been used to ‘launder’ propaganda on Australian topics in the lead-up to this weekend’s federal election. Pravda Australia has increased its output significantly since mid-March, in what experts say is an […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/05/04/abc-news-australia-pro-russian-influence-operation-targeting-australia-in-lead-up-to-election-with-attempt-to-poison-ai-chatbots/

UNN: Russia spent a record amount on international propaganda last year, despite economic difficulties. “Against the background of economic troubles, Russia has rapidly increased funding for propaganda. Thus, the state propaganda channel RT spent a record 31.7 billion rubles, or 384 million US dollars, in 2024. Twice as much funding is planned for 2025.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/05/03/unn-russia-spent-a-record-amount-on-international-propaganda-last-year-despite-economic-difficulties/

PsyPost: Gen Z and conservatives show higher misinformation susceptibility, large-scale study finds. “A large-scale international study sheds light on who is more likely to struggle with identifying false information online. The research found that individuals belonging to Generation Z, those who do not identify as male, people with lower levels of formal education, and individuals […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/04/29/psypost-gen-z-and-conservatives-show-higher-misinformation-susceptibility-large-scale-study-finds/

The Conversation: Social media influencers blur the lines between political content and campaigning, potentially affecting elections. “Our recent report, Influencers and Elections: The many roles that content creators play in elections, looks at the blurred lines between influencers and advertisers, celebrity endorsers, campaign volunteers, media outlets, data brokers, journalists and […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/04/28/the-conversation-social-media-influencers-blur-the-lines-between-political-content-and-campaigning-potentially-affecting-elections/

Stuff New Zealand: US State Department closes the office that flags disinformation from Russia, China and Iran . “The US State Department has shut down its office that sought to deal with misinformation and disinformation that Russia, China and Iran have been accused of spreading. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Wednesday (NZT Thursday) that he had closed what had been […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/04/22/stuff-new-zealand-us-state-department-closes-the-office-that-flags-disinformation-from-russia-china-and-iran/

The Register: America’s National Science Foundation tells DEI, misinfo studies: You’re fired. “In line with Trump administration directives, the US government’s National Science Foundation has started canceling grants for studies into workplace diversity and the spread of misinformation.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/04/22/americas-national-science-foundation-tells-dei-misinfo-studies-youre-fired-the-register/

PsyPost: Russian propaganda campaign used AI to scale output without sacrificing credibility, study finds. “A new study published in PNAS Nexus shows that generative artificial intelligence has already been adopted in real-world disinformation campaigns. By analyzing a Russian-backed propaganda site, researchers found that AI tools significantly increased content production without […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/04/20/psypost-russian-propaganda-campaign-used-ai-to-scale-output-without-sacrificing-credibility-study-finds/

King’s College London: Russian cyber and information warfare and its impact on the EU and UK. “Cyberwarfare is a geopolitical tool, with Russia using it as statecraft. Cyberattacks linked to Russian actors have affected European countries and the UK, raising concerns about security, economic stability and democracy. Information operations are likewise a systematic risk. These are long-term […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/04/17/kings-college-london-russian-cyber-and-information-warfare-and-its-impact-on-the-eu-and-uk/

Concordia University: New Concordia research shows social networks are vulnerable to relatively simple AI manipulation and polarization. “It seems that no matter the topic of conversation, online opinion around it will be split into two seemingly irreconcilable camps. That’s largely a result of these platforms’ design, as the algorithms driving them direct users to like-minded peers. This […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/04/17/concordia-university-new-concordia-research-shows-social-networks-are-vulnerable-to-relatively-simple-ai-manipulation-and-polarization/

Business Insider: The Pentagon’s unusual new online hype man really wants to sell the idea that the troops love Pete Hegseth. “New Pentagon accounts on X and Facebook have been hyping up Pete Hegseth with videos of jogs, handshakes, and football throws and criticizing unfavorable media coverage like Signalgate.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/04/16/business-insider-the-pentagons-unusual-new-online-hype-man-really-wants-to-sell-the-idea-that-the-troops-love-pete-hegseth/

University of British Columbia: Who is most likely to fall for fake news?. “A global study of more than 66,000 participants has revealed which groups of people are most susceptible to misinformation. Study participants assessed news headlines and tried to judge whether they were real or fake….some groups were more self-aware than others about their shortcomings in spotting misinformation.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/04/14/university-of-british-columbia-who-is-most-likely-to-fall-for-fake-news/

Center for Countering Disinformation: How Russia Spreads Propaganda Worldwide Through Journalism Training Courses. “The russian state-owned media company RT continues to spread kremlin propaganda around the world under the guise of training programs. The company has announced the launch of a new large-scale course for foreign journalists.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/04/11/center-for-countering-disinformation-how-russia-spreads-propaganda-worldwide-through-journalism-training-courses/