Description: Researchers at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) report that Operation Overload (also known as Matryoshka or Storm-1679) is a Russian-aligned campaign leveraging purported AI-generated voiceovers and visual impersonations to spread false or inflammatory content across platforms. The campaign reportedly involved at least 135 discrete posts analyzed by ISD in early 2025 targeting institutions and individuals, including one purported viral video claiming USAID funded celebrity trips to Ukraine (see Incident 1061).
Editor Notes: Timeline note: Although individual Operation Overload posts circulated prior to May 2025, this record uses the publication date of ISD's comprehensive report (05/06/2025) as the temporal anchor. The report can be accessed at the following URL: https://www.isdglobal.org/digital_dispatches/stolen-voices-russia-aligned-operation-manipulates-audio-and-images-to-impersonate-experts/. It consolidates evidence of coordinated AI-generated disinformation activity, including impersonation of institutions and individuals, across the first quarter of 2025. Please also refer to (1) Incident 909: Matryoshka Campaign Allegedly Uses Deepfakes to Impersonate Academics for Pro-Russian Propaganda; (2) Incident 929: Sustained AI-Driven Russian Disinformation Campaigns Doppelgänger, Storm-1516, and Matryoshka Reportedly Disrupting German Federal Elections; and (3) Incident 931: Reportedly Manipulated TikTok Videos Misrepresent Anti-AfD Protests as Far-Right Rallies. While 931 has not been explicitly attributed to Operation Overload (also known as Matryoshka or Storm-1679), its thematic content and manipulation tactics appear adjacent. (No direct forensic or institutional linkage has been established as of this writing.) (4) See also Incident 1061 for a specific archive of reporting on the USAID celebrity impersonation incident.
Entities
View all entitiesAlleged: Various generative AI developers , Unknown voice cloning technology developers and Unknown deepfake technology developers developed an AI system deployed by Storm-1679 , Russian-aligned actors , Operation Overload and Matryoshka, which harmed Western support for Ukraine , Voters in Germany , USAID , Ukrainian refugees , Truth , News organizations , Law enforcement agencies , Journalists , General public , Fact-checkers , European politicians , Electoral integrity , Democracy , Academics , Epistemic integrity and National security and intelligence stakeholders.
Alleged implicated AI systems: X (Twitter) , Unknown voice cloning technology , Unknown deepfake technology , Telegram , Social media platforms and Bluesky
Incident Stats
Risk Subdomain
A further 23 subdomains create an accessible and understandable classification of hazards and harms associated with AI
4.1. Disinformation, surveillance, and influence at scale
Risk Domain
The Domain Taxonomy of AI Risks classifies risks into seven AI risk domains: (1) Discrimination & toxicity, (2) Privacy & security, (3) Misinformation, (4) Malicious actors & misuse, (5) Human-computer interaction, (6) Socioeconomic & environmental harms, and (7) AI system safety, failures & limitations.
- Malicious Actors & Misuse
Entity
Which, if any, entity is presented as the main cause of the risk
AI
Timing
The stage in the AI lifecycle at which the risk is presented as occurring
Post-deployment
Intent
Whether the risk is presented as occurring as an expected or unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal
Intentional
Incident Reports
Reports Timeline
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The video falsely claiming that the United States Agency for International Development paid Ben Stiller, Angelina Jolie and other actors millions of dollars to travel to Ukraine appeared to be a clip from E!News, though it never appeared on…
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*he Russia-aligned influence campaign Operation Overload, also referred to as Matryoshka and Storm-1679, is known for impersonating media outlets, academics and law enforcement. It aims to shift public opinion on the war in Ukraine and sow …
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Russian disinformation doesn't always work.
Out of 135 Kremlin-aligned propaganda posts analyzed in a new report, 134 more or less fell flat with social media users, getting liked and reshared mostly by a network of bots. But one went big -…
Variants
A "variant" is an AI incident similar to a known case—it has the same causes, harms, and AI system. Instead of listing it separately, we group it under the first reported incident. Unlike other incidents, variants do not need to have been reported outside the AIID. Learn more from the research paper.
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