Moscow’s AI Machine: How Russian Operatives Built a Secret Server to Weaponize Election Disinformation todayheadline

In an unprecedented development in election interference tactics, Russian operatives constructed a dedicated artificial intelligence server on Moscow soil to avoid international oversight, according to U.S. Treasury Department sanctions announced December 31. The technical infrastructure, housed in a GRU-funded apartment, represents a significant evolution in foreign disinformation capabilities.

The Moscow-based Center for Geopolitical Expertise (CGE), working under direct GRU supervision, developed an in-house AI infrastructure specifically designed to circumvent Western detection. According to Treasury officials, the organization deliberately avoided foreign web-hosting services that might block their activities, opting instead to build and maintain their own server for generating disinformation content.

“The Governments of Iran and Russia have targeted our election processes and institutions and sought to divide the American people through targeted disinformation campaigns,” said Acting Under Secretary Bradley T. Smith, who oversees the Treasury’s terrorism and financial intelligence operations.

The Treasury’s investigation revealed a sophisticated operation where CGE personnel used generative AI tools to rapidly produce disinformation targeting the 2024 presidential election. This content was then distributed across what officials described as “a massive network of websites” – at least 100 in total – designed to imitate legitimate news outlets. The strategy created false corroboration between stories while masking their Russian origin.

The financial arrangement behind the operation provides insight into its scope. The GRU provided funding for three key components:

• Construction and maintenance of the AI server
• Operation of the website network
• Rent for the apartment housing the server infrastructure

CGE Director Valery Mikhaylovich Korovin played a central role in coordinating these financial transfers from the GRU to both employees and U.S.-based facilitators, according to Treasury documents.

In one specific instance detailed in the sanctions announcement, the organization manipulated video content to generate false accusations against a 2024 vice presidential candidate, though the Treasury did not elaborate on the nature of these claims.

The development of private AI infrastructure for disinformation purposes marks a new chapter in election interference tactics. By building their own generative AI capabilities, Russian operatives created a closed system that could operate outside the content moderation and oversight mechanisms typically present in commercial AI platforms.

This technical evolution comes as part of what Treasury officials describe as Moscow’s broader adaptation of its influence tactics. The Kremlin has developed what the Treasury calls “a vast ecosystem of Russian proxy websites, fake online personas, and front organizations” designed to appear independent of Russian state control.

The sanctions place CGE, its director Korovin, and associated assets under multiple authorities, including Executive Order 13848 targeting election interference and Executive Order 14024 addressing Russian malign activities. These designations effectively freeze their U.S.-based assets and prohibit Americans from conducting transactions with them.

This use of generative AI for election interference adds a new dimension to ongoing concerns about artificial intelligence’s role in disinformation campaigns. While previous operations relied largely on human-generated content and traditional cyber tactics, the integration of AI tools suggests foreign actors are rapidly adapting to exploit emerging technologies for political influence operations.