World
US indictments reveal AI use in Russia disinformation campaign targeting 2024 election
Experts say the Kremlin could include artificial intelligence (AI) in efforts to manipulate November’s presidential elections through influence schemes.
The U.S. Department of Justice last week revealed indictments that were part of an ongoing investigation into alleged Russian government plots to try and influence American voters through a variety of disinformation campaigns.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland revealed a major crackdown on influence pushed through state-run media and other online platforms – part of a campaign called “Doppleganger.” He focused on employees of Russian state-controlled media outlet RT, but other indictments released this week showed a wider scope and complexity to Russia’s initiatives.
The U.S. also seized more than two dozen internet domains related to the operation and the establishment of an Election Threats Task Force, which includes FBI Director Christopher Wray and top Justice Department officials, according to CBS News.
AUTONOMOUS CAR BOMBS, ONLINE RECRUITMENT: EXPERTS WORRY HOW AI CAN TRANSFORM TERRORISM
“This is deadly serious, and we are going to treat it accordingly,” Garland said while announcing the indictment alongside Wray on Wednesday.
FBI Director Christopher Wray, right, speaks during a meeting of the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force at the Department of Justice on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024 in Washington, D.C., as Attorney General Merrick Garland looks on. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Those indictments included the alleged use of AI tools used to create social media profiles “posing as U.S. (or other non-Russian citizens)” and create the impression of “a legitimate news media outlet’s website.”
“Among the methods Doppelganger used to drive viewership to the cybersquatted and unique media domains was the deployment of “influencers” worldwide, paid social media advertisements (in some cases created using artificial intelligence tools), and the creation of social media profiles posing as U.S. (or other non-Russian) citizens to post comments on social media platforms with links to the cybersquatted domains,” the indictment stated.
MILITARY’S NEW TECH ROLLOUT INTRODUCES ROBOT THAT PROTECTS SOLDIERS FROM CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL DANGERS
Russia’s “Doppleganger” operation seeks to use deep fake content along with other methods to manipulate November’s presidential elections through influence schemes. (iStock)
The U.S. Department of the Treasury expanded on these allegations in an announcement that designated 10 individuals and two entities under the Office of Foreign Assets Control, allowing the U.S. to impose visa restrictions and a Rewards for Justice reward of up to $10 million relating to such operations.
The Treasury reported that Russian state-sponsored actors have used generative AI deep fakes and disinformation “to undermine confidence in the United States’ election process and institutions.”
The Treasury named Russian nonprofit Autonomous Non-Profit Organization (ANO) Dialog and ANO Dialog Regions as using “deep fake content to develop Russian disinformation campaigns,” including “fake online posts on popular social media accounts …. that would be composed of counterfeit documents, among other material, in order to elicit an emotional response from audiences.”
FOX NEWS AI NEWSLETTER: HOLY SEE CALLS FOR END TO AUTONOMOUS WEAPONS
ANO Dialog in late 2023 allegedly “identified U.S., U.K. and other figures as potential targets for deepfake projects.” The “War on Fakes” website served as a major outlet to disseminate this fake information, which also used bot accounts that targeted voting locations in the U.S. 2024 election.
Investigative journalist Christo Grozev believes the Kremlin was “losing to the West” in the early months of the invasion of Ukraine, which prompted the decision to use AI and “all kind of new methods to make it indistinguishable from the regular flow of information.” (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Unfinished Live)
In an interview for PBS News Hour, Belgian investigative journalist Christo Grozev revealed that complaints over the “global propaganda effort by Russia” – which the Kremlin was “losing to the West” in the early months of the invasion of Ukraine – prompted the decision to use AI and “all kind of new methods to make it indistinguishable from the regular flow of information.”
“They plan to do insertion of advertising, which is in fact hidden as news, and in this way bombard the target population with things that may be misconstrued as news, but are in fact advertising content,” Grozev explained.
“They plan to disguise that advertising content on a person-to-person level as if it is content from their favorite news sites,” he warned. “Now, we haven’t seen that in action, but it’s an intent, and they claim they have developed the technology to do that.”
“They’re very explicit that they’re not going to use Russia-related platforms or even separate platforms,” he added. “They’re going to infiltrate the platform that the target already uses. And that is what sounds scary.”
new video loaded: Ebola Comes for Congo’s Most Vulnerable Children
transcript
transcript
Ebola Comes for Congo’s Most Vulnerable Children
The arrival of a sick newborn at Saint Nicholas Orphanage in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo set off an Ebola outbreak that quickly spread among the country’s most vulnerable. Local health authorities are now monitoring the children’s home, but at least two babies have already died.
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These Congolese children are re-entering the world after five days of isolation. It’s the first year of their lives, and they’re at the center of a deadly Ebola outbreak. The babies are all orphans who were brought to this hospital after showing symptoms of the virus. They’ve just tested negative and are being taken to a temporary home. But at least two other babies from the same orphanage have died. What happened to them has been a worst-case scenario for health officials trying to stop Ebola from spreading to young children. The alarms went off in late May here at Saint Nicholas children’s home after the arrival of a newborn girl, Patience, who quickly developed a fever. We were given a tour of the orphanage, where nearly 70 children plus their caretakers live. A pediatrician tracked baby Patience’s mother’s case and learned that she had Ebola when she died. Days later, Patience died, too. She was 9 days old. This was one of the last photos taken of her while she was still alive. It’s unclear whether the family knew she could be infected. The relative who brought her to Saint Nicholas declined to talk to us when we reached him by phone. By the time anyone at the orphanage understood the danger, some of the staff had already held and cared for Patience. Soon, more children were showing symptoms of the virus. When we visited the Ebola treatment ward, this 10-month-old seemed to be getting better. Baby Elysée was being cared for by Sister Cecile Nube, one of three staff members at the orphanage who also tested positive. Even while sick herself, Sister Nube stayed by Elysée’s side, feeding her, giving her medicine and watching over her. Elisée died 24 hours after we met her. A reminder of how quickly the disease can turn, especially for babies. Now Saint Nicholas is under quarantine. Every day, contact tracers visit the orphanage, checking the children and their caretakers for fevers. “Some of them today are presenting a little bit higher temperature, but they are OK at the moment.” The concern is that one infection here could quickly become many. “It could have been a recipe of disaster. It’s a very classic situation where Ebola can very fastly devastate the community. They are playing together and they are spending the whole day together. So it’s spreading from one person to the next. And for zero time you’ll see the entire community being infected.” For now, the orphanage remains under watch. It’s still a refuge for children who need shelter and care even as every new symptom raises the fear that the virus could still be spreading.
By Bethlehem Feleke, Michael Anthony Adams, Yasu Tsuji and Jon Hazell
June 13, 2026
World
Mexican authorities discover body in trunk near Iranian soccer team’s World Cup training grounds: report
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Mexican authorities discovered a decomposing corpse with “signs of violence” near Tijuana’s Caliente Stadium, where the Iranian national soccer team is training during the World Cup, according to a New York Post report.
Authorities responded to complaints about a bad smell wafting from a gray Toyota SUV with California plates parked in a grocery store parking lot near the stadium, the Post reported.
“Upon inspecting the vehicle, they found a person wrapped in a black bag in the trunk, showing signs of violence,” a spokesperson for the Tijuana prosecutor’s office told the Post.
According to the report, the car had a damaged back end and was equipped with a license plate holder from a Tijuana car dealership.
HIDDEN TUNNEL DISCOVERED IN TIJUANA MAY HAVE SUPPORTED CROSS-BORDER TRAFFICKING OPERATIONS
Forensic workers inspect a car where a body was allegedly found at a parking lot close to Caliente stadium, where Iran’s national football team trains, in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico on June 12, 2026. (Guillermo Arias / AFP via Getty Images)
Mexican officials could be seen wearing white jumpsuits while collecting evidence from the car in photos taken from the scene.
Forensic workers inspect a car where a body was allegedly found at a parking lot close to Caliente stadium, where Iran’s national football team trains, in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico on June 12, 2026. (Guillermo Arias / AFP via Getty Images)
TSUNAMI OF SEWAGE FROM MEXICO BARRELS TOWARD US COASTLINE, OFFICIALS WARN
Tijuana, located just across the U.S.-Mexico border from San Diego, California, is frequently rated as one of the most violent cities in the world.
Iran soccer players pose for a team photo before a friendly match against Costa Rica in Antalya, Turkey, on March 31, 2026. (Riza Ozel/AP)
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Iran’s national team is training at Caliente Stadium in preparation for their upcoming World Cup game against New Zealand in Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium on Monday.
Ahead of attending the long-awaited G7 summit in Évian, US President Donald Trump has announced a peace deal with Iran could be finalised on Sunday, paving the way for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz.
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“The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday.
Donald Trump also says the US will take Iran’s enriched uranium ‘dust’ when ‘all is calm’.
Trump’s statement, however, ran counter to Iran’s foreign ministry which indicated earlier in the day that the deal would not be signed on Sunday, according to state media reports.
Earlier, Pakistan’s prime minister said on Saturday that a peace deal between the United States and Iran is likely to be finalised within the next 24 hours.
Writing on X, Shehbaz Sharif said: “We are closer to a peace deal than ever before”.
But Trump’s post also contained a warning to the Islamic Republic to fully implement the plan or face serious consequences.
“Hopefully, this process will all work out quickly, easily, and smoothly,” the US president wrote. “If it doesn’t, we have the ultimate alternative, hopefully never to be used again!”
Throughout the negotiations Iran has insisted on its right to enrich uranium.
Trump’s post does not mention Israel and the war in Lebanon, nor the US blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz which so far have been the Iranian leadership’s two key demands for any peace agreement.
Trump appears to offer an olive branch to the Iranian leadership by saying that the “relationship with Iran is a much different and better one than previous administrations had,” and that “we look forward to working with Iran, and the entire Middle East, long into the future,” signalling a significant change in the US messaging after the prior threatening statements.
Trump mentions “hopefully” when he expresses his wish for the process to “work out quickly, easily and smoothly,” given how complicated the peace negotiations have been, and he states that military options remain on the table, calling it “the ultimate alternative,” which he hopes “never to be used again.” Another key Iranian demand has been the assurance that the US and Israel will never attack Iran again.
The status of US-Iran talks aimed at ending the Middle East war will be a dominant concern at the G7 summit, as will the be the war in Ukraine.
Trump to work with Zelenskyy, says official
Trump will take part in a G7 working session with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky in France on Tuesday, but no bilateral meeting between the two is scheduled, a senior administration official said.
“On Tuesday morning, President Trump will participate in a working session with G7 leaders and President Zelensky of Ukraine,” the official told reporters Saturday on condition of anonymity.
The G7 summit will take place in Evian on June 15-17, and Trump is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings on its sidelines with French President Emmanuel Macron, as well as the leaders of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and India, the official said.
Trump is also scheduled to dine at the Versailles palace west of Paris with Macron on Wednesday evening, after the summit wraps up.
The dinner is a way to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence in a “landmark of Franco-American friendship where the treaty establishing the independence of the United States was signed in 1783,” according to Macron’s office.
Trump has shifted his attention away from efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran in late February.
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