Researchers tracking an operation called Operation Overload say those running it have dramatically escalated their activity since last autumn. The campaign, also known by names like Matryoshka and Storm 1679, has strong ties to the Russian government according to groups including Russian influence operations go full-scale with AI-powered disinformation campaigns and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue.
AI’s role in this digital manipulation is crystal clear. Consumer-level tools available for free are powering a flood of content aimed at fracturing social consensus, say analysts at Reset Tech and Check First. Ukraine remains a primary target, but the campaign stretches well beyond its borders, seeding divisive stories in multiple countries.
Operation Overload is relentless. Since last September, its team has produced nearly 600 pieces of disinformation content, a staggering leap compared to the 230 identified in the previous year. Most of these fakes are created with AI’s help, letting the campaign replicate the same misleading stories across pictures, videos, fraudulent sites, and even QR codes.
AI Models and the Sophistication of Deception
The spike in output looks less like human artistry and more like an assembly line fueled by algorithms. Aleksandra Atanasova, Reset Tech’s chief open source intelligence researcher, noted, “What came as a surprise to me was the diversity of the content, the different types of content that they started using. They’re layering up different types of content, one after another.”
Operation Overload exploits text-to-image generators like Flux AI, produced by Black Forest Labs in Germany, to craft fake photos that mimic scenes of unrest and target specific groups with discriminatory stereotypes. Many of these images have been flagged for a high likelihood of being generated by AI, often after researchers tested the software with identical offensive prompts. Despite safeguards, provenance information disappeared from these creations.
Black Forest Labs says it employs several safety measures to prevent the unlawful misuse of its technologies. A spokesperson explained, “Preventing misuse will depend on layers of mitigation as well as collaboration between developers, social media platforms, and authorities, and we remain committed to supporting these efforts.”
The campaign goes beyond images. Using voice cloning software, those involved manufacture videos that appear to show real people saying things they never said. One recent example duped viewers into thinking a French academic was urging Germans to riot and back a far-right party, though the footage came from an unrelated university video.
Most of the videos produced in the last eight months — 367 in total, more than double previous figures — were built with these kinds of AI-powered manipulations. These misleading videos and images are distributed on platforms like Telegram, X, Bluesky, and more recently, TikTok, where just thirteen accounts racked up millions of views before being shut down.
Social platforms remain on high alert. A spokesperson for TikTok, Anna Sopel, said, “We are highly vigilant against actors who try to manipulate our platform and have already removed the accounts in this report.”
Researchers say the operation takes an unusual step, blasting emails containing sample disinformation to hundreds of newsrooms and fact-checkers, drawing attention to the fakes and daring journalists to debunk them. For the perpetrators, getting their fabrications acknowledged — even as exposed falsehoods — helps propel them into the mainstream.
The disinformation industry, powered by AI, is not going anywhere soon. Atanasova concluded, is AI getting smarter or just more deceptive.
