ISIS Affiliates Using AI to Generate Propaganda Promoting Terrorism

Sharon Adarlo
·2 min read
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Media Blitz

Days after gunmen stormed a Moscow concert venue in late March and killed more than 140 people, a slick propaganda video about the attack — purportedly from a group allied with the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS or ISIS) — started circulating online.

"The Islamic State delivered a strong blow to Russia with a bloody attack, the fiercest that hit it in years," says an apparent news anchor in the video.

But the news anchor is AI-generated, the Washington Post reports, showing terrorist supporters are technology savvy and harnessing new AI tools to spread hateful messaging, citing a new study from the SITE Intelligence Group, a terrorist monitoring consultancy.

Since the March 23rd video, ISIS affiliates have released five more videos courting viral success and circulating among its supporters across the world to recruit new members, according to the study.

"For ISIS, AI means a game changer," SITE co-founder and report author Rita Katz told WaPo. "It’s going to be a quick way for them to spread and disseminate their…bloody attacks [to] reach almost every corner of the world."

Bad Actors

It's no surprise that terrorists like ISIS and their supporters would gravitate towards using AI video generators. The group and their affiliates have a track record for having sophisticated media operations and for producing slick propaganda vehicles such as magazines and posters for circulation online.

It once again illustrates a painful reality of AI tools: they're cheap and easy to access, not just for people putting them to responsible use, but also everyone from terrorists to hackers and other online scammers who use the tech to commit fraud.

The US government has ample public resources for people to read on how to not fall prey to online scammers, but how do you combat stuff like AI videos from terrorists?

The SITE report doesn't offer any specific remedies on how to fight what could be an incoming wave of AI-generated terrorist content. It's a bell you can't unring.

More on AI: Facebook AI Accuses AI Researcher of Being a Terrorist