For months, a foreign agent has been cultivating some of the most powerful figures in the United States, feeding them falsehoods to turn them into unwitting allies. The spy runner is a Russia-backed network called Portal Kombat, which operates hundreds of websites to spread disinformation. Its targets are A.I. models like Chat GPT, Grok, and Gemini, aiming to influence their responses to users.
Portal Kombat pushed over 3.6 million stories in 2024, according to News Guard, which found that its propaganda regularly appears in A.I. chat systems. America's adversaries, including China and Russia, use A.I. to push false claims and generate fake content. The greatest danger is A.I.'s ability to persuade through sustained engagement, unlike static pamphlets.
To fight back, Americans need counterspy techniques: using multiple sources, testing reliability, and avoiding complacency. These tools help navigate a world where foreign actors and domestic politicians manipulate A.I. content. Social media algorithms have long amplified propaganda, but A.I.'s personalization and interactivity are new.
A.I. can identify your beliefs and create tailored content in real time, a task that once took teams weeks. Companies like Go Laxy have advertised such systems, using A.I. to mine user data and change political opinions. We all need to start thinking like spies to resist influence campaigns.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing