Bots speak Russian: Fake accounts have flooded social networks

"Although 'bot networks' are not new—they have been around for nearly a decade and are used for various purposes—the level of technical sophistication demonstrated by 'Meliorator' has not been seen before."

"A wave of cyberattacks on computer networks across Europe and the U.S. since the beginning of this year, attributed to Russian hacker groups linked with the FSB and GRU intelligence agencies as well as the Kremlin itself, has continued in recent months.
Cybersecurity experts believe that the main objectives of this high volume of hacking attacks, aside from protecting the Kremlin, are to influence political situations within the EU, the presidential election campaign in the U.S., and to spread narratives about 'great military successes' in Ukraine."
"In recent years, the term 'bot network' or 'bot account' has been frequently used in global media. In practice, these terms refer to the same thing—fake accounts, whether on social networks like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (now known as X), or across various user-generated forums such as Reddit, Discord, or even the professional network LinkedIn. 'Bot networks' are essentially thousands of fake accounts managed often through specially designed software. All 'bots' (short for 'robots') typically have similar or identical posts, content, videos, and even links to external websites. Over time, this results in a far more efficient spread of desired information or narratives, first in the online space and later in the media and among the public."
"Due to this mode of operation, 'bots' are very common in political campaigns, and such accounts are usually operated by party activists who aim to discredit political opponents and present 'their own truth.' In May, Meta (the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) released its Adversarial Threat Report for the first quarter of this year, which indicated the discovery of a 'network of political bots' in Croatia.
'Individuals behind this activity used fake accounts—some of which were detected by our automated systems before this investigation—to create pages, generate fictitious identities, and share and comment on other people's posts. Since this bot network failed to build an audience for its own pages, it shifted its focus to commenting on news and political pages in Croatia. This included support and comments on the official pages of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and its politicians and candidates, both national and local,' the Meta report states."
However, there are much larger and more dangerous 'bot networks' used for 'total control' of the internet and for spreading disinformation on a global scale. Such networks often include even official accounts of government agencies and services, which intentionally post pre-prepared statements and information. This is done to lend credibility and legitimacy to the 'bot networks' that disseminate them, as they are presented as 'official government statements.'
The FBI, in collaboration with partners in Canada and the Netherlands, recently uncovered a large global network of interconnected fake accounts controlled by highly advanced software with artificial intelligence capabilities named 'Meliorator.' This software acts as a sort of 'main administrator' for the entire network, while smaller parts of the network are managed by other software controlled by administrators. The Canadian National Cyber Security Centre indicates that the software is most likely the work of the Russian intelligence agency FSB and possesses exceptionally advanced AI options for spreading disinformation and pro-Russian narratives.
Moreover, researchers and cybersecurity experts have discovered that 'Meliorator' can autonomously create accounts on social media, particularly on Twitter (X). The software even includes a so-called master panel, a main page from which all accounts in the 'bot network,' their posts, and how many real users have seen these posts (essentially disinformation) can be viewed. This main page even has its own name—'Brigadir'—while within the system there is another software tool called 'Taras' for the targeted sending of selected links and content."
"In most cases, the content was from Russian propaganda media, such as RT (formerly Russia Today) and Sputnik. It is worth noting that these 'media' are under direct control of the Kremlin and their broadcasting in Europe and the U.S. was banned two years ago precisely because of the spread of disinformation.
The FBI document and U.S. experts also mention a significant possibility that the management of the RT channel was aware of this network, and that some of their content and news were created in a way to be 'more appealing' to Western audiences, as well as to convey the Kremlin's desired narrative."

Wide Range of Bot Network Capabilities
Although the majority of content shared through this network was in English—almost two-thirds—there were also quite a few posts (mostly translated original posts) in German, French, and Scandinavian languages. Canadian experts found accounts within this network that had over a hundred thousand followers and were followed by public figures and organizations from the USA, the UK, Spain, and Portugal.
While such "bot networks" are by no means new and have existed for nearly a decade, being used (besides in politics) for promoting cryptocurrencies, various alternative media, lesser-known musicians, and even advancing in certain video games, the level of technical sophistication displayed by the network and the software "Meliorator" is unprecedented. Experts indicate that the "main target" of the network was Twitter (X), but a significant number of such posts and disinformation also ended up on Facebook and Instagram.
The FBI also believes that Russian hackers had their own "server farm," which essentially acted as a "private telecom provider," allowing them to create a unique network for email communication and to generate hundreds of thousands of original email addresses, which were later used to create "bot" accounts on social media. Some parts of the "Meliorator" software code show that the software was capable of independently "liking" or resharing posts from real (live) users and institutions that support Kremlin narratives and its politicians.