Several hundred thousand Internet users in Europe have been targeted by anti-Ukraine propaganda. TikTok notes a very marked use of artificial intelligence.
Disinformation networks have multiplied in recent years and TikTok is no exception. As part of its report on the fight against disinformation imposed by the European Commissionthe Chinese social network said it had dismantled a Russian disinformation network that targeted European Internet users.
In total, around 1,700 accounts have been identified as spreading anti-Ukrainian messages, posing as users from other countries. German, Italian and British Internet users were particularly targeted. According to TikTok, more than 133,000 people saw these pro-Russian posts on their news feed between July and September 2022. The social network was unable to determine whether the Russian government was behind these accounts.
Several methods used to deceive
These thousands of disinformation accounts have used several digital tools to spread their messages and make them credible. By using VPNs and other private networks, Internet users could thus give the impression of being locals by sharing photos, videos and other pro Russian memes. Some of them even buy IP addresses to reinforce this impression of local citizenship.
Artificial intelligence has also been a great help for those accounts that have been able to use text-to-speech tools. The accounts used software to create fake pro-Russian claims in the languages of the targeted countries. “We do not allow activities that may undermine the integrity of our platform or the authenticity of our users,” a TikTok spokesperson said.
“The fact that these networks and the associated accounts were quickly identified and removed is a testament to the considerable resources we have invested in protecting our community from error,” said the social network.
After identification, the misinformation accounts and their content were removed by TikTok moderation teams. To counter the arrival of other propaganda accounts, the social network has added a label for accounts belonging to state-controlled media. Live broadcasts from Russia and Ukraine are also blocked in European Union countries.
