How Russian Disinformation Networks Are Poisoning AI Chatbots | SecureTalk with NewsGuard Experts

May 6, 2025
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 In this eye-opening episode of Secure Talk, host Justin Beals investigates how foreign disinformation campaigns have evolved to target AI systems. NewsGuard researchers McKenzie Sadeghi and Isis Blachez reveal their groundbreaking investigation into the Moscow-based Pravda network that has successfully infiltrated Western AI chatbots, creating a new frontier in information warfare that bypasses human readers to directly corrupt the technology we rely on for information.

Key Insights:

  • Leading AI chatbots repeated Russian disinformation 33% of the time when tested on key geopolitical topics
  • The Pravda network has expanded from 50 to over 150 websites specifically designed to influence AI training data
  • Modern disinformation operations now prioritize "LLM grooming" over targeting human readers
  • Even when AI systems attempt to debunk false claims, they often cite unreliable sources, further legitimizing them
  • Human oversight remains essential as these networks constantly evolve to evade automated detection

Notable Quotes: "Bad actors are targeting AI models to get their information to appear in those responses, but they're also weaponizing AI to produce disinformation at scale." - McKenzie Sadeghi

"What is changing is really the delivery of the disinformation... it's reaching a much larger audience and an audience that's not targeted as specifically because now practically anyone is using ChatGPT or other chatbots." - Isis Blachez

"This network does not invest any money or resources into spreading its content online... It's sort of serving as a centralized hub. And as a result, it appears very high not only in search results but also in chatbot responses." - McKenzie Sadeghi

Resources: 

  • Sadeghi, M., & Blachez, I. (2025, March 6). A well-funded Moscow-based global disinformation network. NewsGuard Reality Check. https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/a-well-funded-moscow-based-global

#AISecurityThreats #Cybersecurity #Disinformation #InformationSecurity #TechSecurity #AIEthics #DataPoisoning #SecureTalk #InfoSec

 

View full transcript

About our guest

Mckenzie Sadeghi and Isis Blachez NewsGuard

McKenzie Sadeghi is Editor, AI and Foreign Influence for NewsGuard. Sadeghi previously worked as a fact-checker and reporter at USA Today, focusing on misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic, elections, and international conflicts. As an undergrad at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School, she covered politics for Arizona PBS and worked at the college publication, The State Press. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Georgetown University and is currently completing a  master's degree  in cybersecurity at the NYU School of Law and Engineering.


Isis Blachez is a Staff Analyst at NewsGuard. Blachez recently completed a Masters degree at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She previously interned for Les Echos’ international desk and worked for SpringVoice, a marketing consulting company. In 2023, Blachez earned a Bachelors from the joint Sciences Po Paris and Columbia University program, majoring in economics and sociology.

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Justin BealsFounder & CEO Strike Graph

Justin Beals is a serial entrepreneur with expertise in AI, cybersecurity, and governance who is passionate about making arcane cybersecurity standards plain and simple to achieve. He founded Strike Graph in 2020 to eliminate confusion surrounding cybersecurity audit and certification processes by offering an innovative, right-sized solution at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional methods.

Now, as Strike Graph CEO, Justin drives strategic innovation within the company. Based in Seattle, he previously served as the CTO of NextStep and Koru, which won the 2018 Most Impactful Startup award from Wharton People Analytics.

Justin is a board member for the Ada Developers Academy, VALID8 Financial, and Edify Software Consulting. He is the creator of the patented Training, Tracking & Placement System and the author of “Aligning curriculum and evidencing learning effectiveness using semantic mapping of learning assets,” which was published in the International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJet). Justin earned a BA from Fort Lewis College.

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