Russia has targeted users on the social media platform Bluesky, hacking into the accounts of real people to disseminate fake articles. This new approach involves hijacking genuine user accounts to post fabricated content.
Ben Gilbert, an economist and professor at the Colorado School of Mines, was one such victim. His rarely used account, where he shares expertise in natural resources, suddenly featured a fake video blaming France’s support for Ukraine for police shortages at home. Gilbert had no knowledge of this activity.
Bluesky reported that hundreds of accounts were compromised. These accounts, while not belonging to celebrities, do belong to influential figures in their respective fields. Among the hacked accounts were those of journalists, professors, a Texas pollster, an anime artist, and a filmmaker from Hollywood. One account shared a video, manipulated with artificial intelligence, impersonating a Canadian police official who criticized France’s President Emmanuel Macron.
Researchers from Clemson University, collaborating with internet monitors known as the dTeam, traced the campaign to the Social Design Agency based in Moscow. The campaign underscores Russia’s continued efforts to undermine Western support for Ukraine, which it invaded in 2022.