Description: A video that reportedly went viral on X in early February 2025 claimed USAID paid celebrities to visit Ukraine. The clip mimicked E! News branding and included a narrator with a British accent. Individuals and organizations named denied any involvement. Researchers attributed the video to Matryoshka (AKA Operation Overload and Storm-1679), an influence campaign suspected of using AI-generated narration and editing, though tool use has not been independently confirmed.
Editor Notes: This incident ID collects reports that specifically focus on the reported USAID celebrity impersonation incident, but it is important to consider it particularly in relation to Incident 1060. In addition to 1060, please also consult Incidents 909, 929, and 931.
Entities
View all entitiesAlleged: Unknown deepfake technology developers and Unknown voice cloning technology developers developed an AI system deployed by Storm-1679 , Russian-linked disinformation network , Operation Overload and Matryoshka, which harmed USAID , Truth , The New York Times , Sean Penn , Politico , Orlando Bloom , New York University , E! News , Ben Stiller , BBC and Angelina Jolie.
Alleged implicated AI systems: X (Twitter) , Unknown voice cloning technology and Unknown deepfake technology
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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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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