Ai in disinformation. Operation Matryoshka and personalization of fakes

illustration: DALL-E

Last year, researchers from the UWM Institute of Political Science implemented the project "The Impact of Russian Disinformation on Shaping Public Opinion in Eastern European Countries - Analysis and Counteraction Strategies." The project`s goal was to examine the mechanisms of Russian disinformation as a hybrid tool in Moldova and Georgia and to develop specific strategies to counter these threats.

As noted by Dr. Wojciech Kotowicz from the Institute of Political Science at the UWM Faculty of Social Sciences, during the research, scientists identified several fundamental trends that will shape the disinformation landscape in the near future. Among them is the increasingly common use of artificial intelligence to generate false content.


- Operation Matryoshka, which we studied in the context of Moldova, was one of the first large-scale campaigns to use AI to create deepfakes, false press articles, and conversational bots that were practically indistinguishable from real users. This technology is becoming increasingly accessible and sophisticated - the scientist noted.

As he described, there have already been recorded cases of video deepfakes depicting European politicians speaking in a way that never occurred, but the quality of these materials was so high that even experts had difficulty identifying them.

Personalization of disinformation and social segmentation

Another trend is the personalization of disinformation. - Thanks to advanced data analytics and user profiling, Russian disinformation campaigns can now deliver different narratives to different audience groups, maximizing their effectiveness. During the research in Georgia, we discovered that the same disinformation campaign used completely different arguments depending on whether it was directed at urban or rural residents, the young or the elderly, the religious or the secular - he explained.

- For older rural residents, the narrative focused on the threat to traditional values and religion, while for young urban residents, economic arguments and fears of losing sovereignty were used. This segmentation makes countering disinformation much more difficult because we are not dealing with one consistent narrative, but with many tailored messages - he pointed out.

He cited the situation in Moldova as an example, where researchers observed how a narrative about the corruption of pro-European elites was built over the years, which ultimately translated into significant support for pro-Russian options in elections. This was not the work of a single election campaign but the result of a systematic, multi-year effort.

According to Wojciech Kotowicz, the situation is similar in Poland. - Russian disinformation does not focus only on current events but tries to build long-term narratives that undermine our European and Atlantic identity - he noted.


- We must be prepared for disinformation to exploit real social problems and frustrations. The most effective disinformation is not entirely false; it is based on real problems such as inflation, the housing crisis, and social inequalities, and presents simplified, populist solutions, often blaming the West, the European Union, or local elites - he emphasized.

According to the researcher, Russian disinformation is most successful where it encounters strong internal social and political divisions. - Russia does not try to impose a single narrative but creates a multitude of contradictory messages to cause cognitive chaos and a sense of helplessness in the recipient - he concluded.

The grant for the UWM research project was awarded by the Juliusz Mieroszewski Dialogue Centre as part of the 3rd Open Competition. The project was carried out from June 1 to October 31 last year by a research team from the Institute of Political Science. The project manager was Dr. Wojciech Kotowicz, and the participating experts included: prof. dr hab. Arkadiusz Żukowski, dr hab. Waldemar Tomaszewski, prof. UWM, dr hab. Krzysztof Żęgota, prof. UWM and dr hab. Marcin Chełminiak, prof. UWM.

source: naukawpolsce.pl