In today's #vatniksoup, I'll talk about the state of generative AI (GAI) today, and how it will affect propaganda & disinformation in the near future.The development of GAI right now is so fast, that it's very difficult to keep track of what's going on,but here's the latest.
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Generative AI is a technology capable of generating text, images, videos, or other data using generative models often in response to prompts. Some examples of GAI are platforms like Midjourney, DALL-E, ChatGPT and all those chatbots you find on every service desk these days.
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In the last two years, GAI platforms, especially those that generate images, have become much more powerful. For example below, you see a comparison between generated content with different versions of Midjourney: v1 was published in Feb 2022, and v6 came out in Dec 2023.
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In the context of the Russo-Ukrainian War, there have been multiple examples of GAI that's been produced as anti-Ukrainian propaganda.
Few weeks after the full-scale war started, a crude and badly made Zelenskyy deepfake surfaced on social media.
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There was also a big push to make Zelenskyy appear as a cocaine addict. This was done by cutting and pasting parts from his interviews, but there was also a video published which showed "white powder" on his workdesk. The video of course was a edited and fake.
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In Nov 2023, a deepfake video depicting then Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi made rounds on Telegram. In the fake video, he declared Zelenskyy as an "enemy of the state", and rallied people to "deploy their weapons and enter Kyiv".
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Another deepfake video was published in Feb 2024. In this video, deepfake audio of the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, claims that Joe Biden should "deal with real internal problems" and not "play with Putin, from whom he needs to learn how to work for national interests".
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Another, more recent example was published in Mar 2024, some time after the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack. This deepfake video was a composition of two interviews with Danilov and it used a deepfake audio that was then dubbed on the video.
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At the beginning of the war, when only a tiny amount of information and media was coming from the front lines, people shared a lot of video game content and videos from previous conflicts. This same phenomenon was evident after the 7th Oct terrorist attack.
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Deepfake content is also used to sway opinions at the election polls. In the 2023 Slovak parliamentary election, a deepfake audio was used to construct a phone call about "rigging the elections" and raising the cost of beer. The latter may have even swung the elections!
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GAI is also used to generate text. One such example is recently launched fake news blog London Crier. According to @eliothiggins, most of the content on this site is stolen from other sites & then re-written by AI,with occasional hand-written fake news thrown in the mix.
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Most of the examples above are crude and not very convincing. Next, let's look at what can be done today with state-of-the-art GAI technologies. For example, here's a GAI video produced with Sora AI, a GAI video platform created by OpenAI.
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Here's another example that was made by TikTok user @tech.bible. The AI used 30 seconds of both webcam and audio content to create this completely fake video. This is already pretty convincing, and it's just the start.
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Generative AI can also be used to create music. Here's a song titled "Diapers and Deception (Fuck Vladimir Putin)", an electronic deep house song with vocals that took me around 15 seconds to make. As you can hear, it's a banger and a certified summer hit.
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Below you see photorealistic examples made with the latest version of Midjourney AI (v6). I, for one, have hard time telling that these images were generated by AI. Many platforms are also figuring out how to overcome the challenging parts, like generating human hands.
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Deepfakes, robocalls, and other techniques are already used for nefarious purposes. For example, fake robocalls that impersonated Joe Biden were used to sway voters in New Hampshire, and a finance worker transferred 25 million USD after a tele call with a deepfake boss.
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To conclude, GAI is developing FAST, and it will change our attitude towards information & disinformation. In the near future, it will be extremely difficult to notice a difference between real and fake content. People will also have hard time believing in anything anymore.
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Finally, I would recommend everyone to follow @Shayan86 and @O_Rob1nson, as they do the best fact-checking and de-bunking when it comes to fake content.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce Russian propagandist Sergei Tsaulin. He’s best-known for spreading pro-Kremlin narratives in Estonia, fleeing to Russia after breaking several laws in Estonia, and almost getting blown up by a bomb in St. Petersburg.
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For years, Tsaulin was known for organizing marches and events glorifying the Soviet Union. Under the excuse of “remembering history,” these events were nothing more than Kremlin propaganda, wrapped in a red flag with a hammer and sickle.
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One of his most infamous events was the “Immortal Regiment” march, held every 9th of May, where people carried portraits of Soviet soldiers. These marches are used by Russia to push the idea that the Baltics owe their existence to the Soviets.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a podcaster and conspiracy theorist, Joe Rogan (@joerogan). He’s best-known for launching the biggest podcast in the world, promoting various conspiracy theories, his support for Donald Trump and his anti-Ukraine rhetoric.
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Joe Rogan started as a stand-up comedian in the 1980s, found fame on NewsRadio, and became a household name with Fear Factor. But his biggest impact came in 2009 when he launched The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE), one of the first major podcasts.
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JRE started as casual but deep conversations, often covering countercultural topics like psychedelics, MMA & hunting. Joe’s podcasting style is largely non-confrontational, often allowing his guests to share their views without significant pushback or critical questioning.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce KOOS party leader and Estonian crypto businessman Oleg Ivanov. He’s best known for running shady businesses, spreading Russian false narratives in Estonia, and participating in the pro-Kremlin political party KOOS.
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As a talented youngster, Oleg learned Estonian almost flawlessly, was a promising karate athlete, and landed a job at a law firm at just 20. He caught the eye of Estonian fuel entrepreneur Endel Siff, who quickly took him under his wing.
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Oleg’s father, Vladimir Ivanov, was a longtime politician from the Russian-funded United People’s Party of Estonia. His career at the town hall ended abruptly when he was caught drunk at work. After that, he went into business with his son, Oleg.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll talk about the takeover of social media by illiberal, populist influencers. For the last ten years, social media has been dominated by these voices and it is one of the main reasons for the political rise of people like Trump and Orban.
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“Illiberal populists” like Trump reject democratic norms while claiming to speak for “the people.” They centralize power, attack institutions, and push nationalism over rights. Elections exist, but checks & balances erode. This is democracy in name, autocracy in action.
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The media landscape has changed drastically over the past two decades. The Internet and social media have changed how we interact online & how we consume media,but it has also become our main source of news. In many ways,social media companies have control over information.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce Lithuanian far-right politician and Seimas member Remigijus Žemaitaitis. He’s best known for his extremist political views and for falling for a scam that convinced him he was flying to New York to meet Elon Musk.
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Like many vatniks before him, Remigijus worked as a lawyer before entering the world of politics. Once just another politician, he gradually embraced far-right nationalism and populism, following a trend seen across Europe over the past 15 years.
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Instead of real policies, he tapped into fear, resentment, and anger, turning 4chan talking points into a populist political strategy. His speeches became more extreme, targeting minorities, Western institutions, and Lithuania’s support for Ukraine.