Skip to Content
logologo
AI Incident Database
Open TwitterOpen RSS FeedOpen FacebookOpen LinkedInOpen GitHub
Open Menu
Discover
Submit
  • Welcome to the AIID
  • Discover Incidents
  • Spatial View
  • Table View
  • List view
  • Entities
  • Taxonomies
  • Submit Incident Reports
  • Submission Leaderboard
  • Blog
  • AI News Digest
  • Risk Checklists
  • Random Incident
  • Sign Up
Collapse
Discover
Submit
  • Welcome to the AIID
  • Discover Incidents
  • Spatial View
  • Table View
  • List view
  • Entities
  • Taxonomies
  • Submit Incident Reports
  • Submission Leaderboard
  • Blog
  • AI News Digest
  • Risk Checklists
  • Random Incident
  • Sign Up
Collapse

Incident 968: 'Pravda' Network, Successor to 'Portal Kombat,' Allegedly Seeding AI Models with Kremlin Disinformation

Description: A Moscow-based disinformation network, Pravda, allegedly infiltrated AI models by flooding the internet with pro-Kremlin falsehoods. A NewsGuard audit found that 10 major AI chatbots repeated these narratives 33% of the time, citing Pravda sources as legitimate. The tactic, called "LLM grooming," manipulates AI training data to embed Russian propaganda. Pravda is part of Portal Kombat, a larger Russian disinformation network identified by VIGINUM in February 2024, but in operation since February 2022.
Editor Notes: This incident ID represents an ongoing, highly complex disinformation campaign that has been leveraging AI since February 2022, around the time of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. France's VIGINUM reported on the "Portal Kombat" disinformation network in this February 12th, 2024 report: https://www.sgdsn.gouv.fr/files/files/20240212_NP_SGDSN_VIGINUM_PORTAL-KOMBAT-NETWORK_ENG_VF.pdf. Portal Kombat is the name for the wider network that "Pravda" is a part of. The first Pravda websites began appearing between April 3rd and December 17th, 2022, according to VIGINUM. On February 26th, 2025, the American Sunlight Project published more information on Pravda in an investigative report that can be accessed here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6612cbdfd9a9ce56ef931004/t/67bf1de6429a912e3cbe8c83/1740578284208/PK+Report.pdf. On March 6th, 2025, NewsGuard released more information on Pravda's "LLM grooming" tactics. Their report can be read here: https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/a-well-funded-moscow-based-global. The incident date of 02/24/2022 is in reference to VIGINUM's report summary citing February 2022 (p. 2). While a precise start date for Portal Kombat is unknown, aligning it with Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a reasonable approximation. Please also refer to incidents 701 and 734 in particular for closely related incidents.

Tools

New ReportNew ReportNew ResponseNew ResponseDiscoverDiscoverView HistoryView History

Entities

View all entities
Alleged: You.com , xAI , Perplexity , OpenAI , Mistral , Microsoft , Meta , Inflection , Google and Anthropic developed an AI system deployed by TigerWeb , Storm-1516 , Russian state media , Pravda disinformation network , Portal Kombat , John Mark Dougan and Government of Russia, which harmed Truth , Policymakers , Media consumers , Journalists , Journalism , Governments , Government of Ukraine , General public of Ukraine , General public , Democracy and Chatbot users.
Alleged implicated AI systems: You.com Smart Assistant , xAI Grok , Perplexity Answer Engine , Mistral le Chat , Meta AI , Inflection Pi , Gemini , Copilot , ChatGPT 4o , ChatGPT and Anthropic Claude

Incident Stats

Incident ID
968
Report Count
27
Incident Date
2022-02-24
Editors
Daniel Atherton

Incident Reports

Reports Timeline

Incident Occurrence+1
French security experts identify Moscow-based disinformation network
Pravda, Russia's disinformation network, 'expanding' in Europe despite efforts to stop it20 June: Operation Overload: “Please check” – how pro-Russian propagandists’ try to manipulate newsrooms+21
Russia’s so-called “Pravda” network expands worldwide
Maybe AI Slop Is Killing the Internet, After All
French security experts identify Moscow-based disinformation network

French security experts identify Moscow-based disinformation network

theguardian.com

Foreign digital interference – Result of investigations into the Russian propaganda network Portal Kombat (15 February 2024)

Foreign digital interference – Result of investigations into the Russian propaganda network Portal Kombat (15 February 2024)

diplomatie.gouv.fr

Pravda, Russia's disinformation network, 'expanding' in Europe despite efforts to stop it

Pravda, Russia's disinformation network, 'expanding' in Europe despite efforts to stop it

euronews.com

20 June: Operation Overload: “Please check” – how pro-Russian propagandists’ try to manipulate newsrooms

20 June: Operation Overload: “Please check” – how pro-Russian propagandists’ try to manipulate newsrooms

disinfo.eu

Russia’s so-called “Pravda” network expands worldwide

Russia’s so-called “Pravda” network expands worldwide

dfrlab.org

NEW REPORT: Russian propaganda may be flooding AI models

NEW REPORT: Russian propaganda may be flooding AI models

americansunlight.org

Russian propaganda may be flooding AI models

Russian propaganda may be flooding AI models

americansunlight.substack.com

A well-funded Moscow-based global ‘news’ network has infected Western artificial intelligence tools worldwide with Russian propaganda

A well-funded Moscow-based global ‘news’ network has infected Western artificial intelligence tools worldwide with Russian propaganda

newsguardrealitycheck.com

Exclusive: Russian disinformation floods AI chatbots, study finds

Exclusive: Russian disinformation floods AI chatbots, study finds

axios.com

Russian propaganda is being spread through popular AI chatbots: report

Russian propaganda is being spread through popular AI chatbots: report

abcnews4.com

Major Western AI chatbots, including ChatGPT-4-o, echo Russian propaganda about war in Ukraine

Major Western AI chatbots, including ChatGPT-4-o, echo Russian propaganda about war in Ukraine

cybernews.com

NewsGuard: Russian Disinformation Network Floods AI Chatbots

NewsGuard: Russian Disinformation Network Floods AI Chatbots

newsmax.com

Russian disinformation has 'infected' all popular AI chatbots, study says

Russian disinformation has 'infected' all popular AI chatbots, study says

mezha.media

Russia flooding training data to influence chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude

Russia flooding training data to influence chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude

meduza.io

Russian Disinformation Infiltrates AI Systems - https://eutoday.net

Russian Disinformation Infiltrates AI Systems - https://eutoday.net

eutoday.net

3.6 million fake articles: how Russian propaganda influences the results of AI chatbots like OpenAI and Meta A

3.6 million fake articles: how Russian propaganda influences the results of AI chatbots like OpenAI and Meta A

dev.ua

3.6 million fake articles: how Russian propaganda influences the results of AI chatbots like OpenAI and Meta A

3.6 million fake articles: how Russian propaganda influences the results of AI chatbots like OpenAI and Meta A

dev.ua

Russian fake news network floods western AI chatbots with millions of propaganda articles

Russian fake news network floods western AI chatbots with millions of propaganda articles

the-decoder.com

Russian propaganda floods popular AI chatbots, spreading disinformation — NewsGuard report

Russian propaganda floods popular AI chatbots, spreading disinformation — NewsGuard report

english.nv.ua

Russian Disinformation 'Infects' Popular AI Chatbots

Russian Disinformation 'Infects' Popular AI Chatbots

pcmag.com

Russian disinformation 'infects' AI chatbots, researchers warn

Russian disinformation 'infects' AI chatbots, researchers warn

france24.com

Russian Propaganda Has Now Infected Western AI Chatbots — New Study

Russian Propaganda Has Now Infected Western AI Chatbots — New Study

forbes.com

AI chatbots 'infected' with Russian propaganda: report

AI chatbots 'infected' with Russian propaganda: report

newsweek.com

Russia ‘Infected’ Chatbots with Propaganda – AI Repeats Russian Fake Narratives in 33% of Cases

Russia ‘Infected’ Chatbots with Propaganda – AI Repeats Russian Fake Narratives in 33% of Cases

mil.in.ua

Russian networks flood the Internet with propaganda, aiming to corrupt AI chatbots

Russian networks flood the Internet with propaganda, aiming to corrupt AI chatbots

thebulletin.org

Russia seeds chatbots with lies. Any bad actor could game AI the same way.

Russia seeds chatbots with lies. Any bad actor could game AI the same way.

washingtonpost.com

Maybe AI Slop Is Killing the Internet, After All

Maybe AI Slop Is Killing the Internet, After All

bloomberg.com

French security experts identify Moscow-based disinformation network
theguardian.com · 2024

French military and cybersecurity experts say they have identified a Moscow-based network spreading propaganda and disinformation in western Europe.

France’s Viginum agency, which was set up in 2021 to detect digital interference from forei…

Foreign digital interference – Result of investigations into the Russian propaganda network Portal Kombat (15 February 2024)
diplomatie.gouv.fr · 2024

On February 12, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Stéphane Séjourné publicly revealed the discovery of a pro-Russian propaganda network called "Portal Kombat," which was detected in the course of an investigation by the VIGINUM agency…

Pravda, Russia's disinformation network, 'expanding' in Europe despite efforts to stop it
euronews.com · 2024

Pravda, a disinformation network and the former official newspaper of Russia's Soviet-era Communist Party, is expanding its hold in the EU.

The Russian disinformation network Pravda is expanding its hold in the European Union despite attemp…

20 June: Operation Overload: “Please check” – how pro-Russian propagandists’ try to manipulate newsrooms
disinfo.eu · 2024

Operation Overload uncovers a concerted effort to target fact-checkers, newsrooms, and researchers worldwide, depleting their resources and exploiting credible information ecosystems to propagate the Kremlin’s political agenda. The campaign…

Russia’s so-called “Pravda” network expands worldwide
dfrlab.org · 2025

An investigation by the DFRLab and Finland-based company CheckFirst has found that the Russian website ecosystem known as “Pravda” expanded its infrastructure over the course of 2024. The operation, previously dubbed “Portal Kombat,” has ev…

NEW REPORT: Russian propaganda may be flooding AI models
americansunlight.org · 2025

Click here to read the report.

Click here to read the press release.

Click here to access the database.

It may be tempting to consider Russian influence campaigns in the United States and other democratic countries as merely an afterthought…

Russian propaganda may be flooding AI models
americansunlight.substack.com · 2025

It may be tempting to consider Russian influence campaigns in the United States and other democratic countries as merely an afterthought, given the chaos and uncertainty that Donald Trump's second presidency is causing. But his reelection--…

A well-funded Moscow-based global ‘news’ network has infected Western artificial intelligence tools worldwide with Russian propaganda
newsguardrealitycheck.com · 2025

A Moscow-based disinformation network named “Pravda” — the Russian word for "truth" — is pursuing an ambitious strategy by deliberately infiltrating the retrieved data of artificial intelligence chatbots, publishing false claims and propaga…

Exclusive: Russian disinformation floods AI chatbots, study finds
axios.com · 2025

A Russian disinformation effort that flooded the web with false claims and propaganda continues to impact the output of major AI chatbots, according to a new report from NewsGuard, shared first with Axios.

Why it matters: The study, which e…

Russian propaganda is being spread through popular AI chatbots: report
abcnews4.com · 2025

(TNND) --- Popular artificial intelligence chatbots are being flooded with Russian propaganda, and much of that disinformation gets repeated to unsuspecting Americans seeking answers from the AI systems, according to a new report from NewsG…

Major Western AI chatbots, including ChatGPT-4-o, echo Russian propaganda about war in Ukraine
cybernews.com · 2025

ChatGPT-4-o, Gemini, Claude, and other major Western chatbots are spreading Russian propaganda about the war in Ukraine and other topics of interest to Russia, a study by news and information websites rating provider NewsGuard has found.

Di…

NewsGuard: Russian Disinformation Network Floods AI Chatbots
newsmax.com · 2025

A Moscow-based disinformation network named Pravda is continuing to spread false information across the web, according to a report from NewsGuard.

The disinformation, which masquerades as news websites and uses artificial intelligence to pr…

Russian disinformation has 'infected' all popular AI chatbots, study says
mezha.media · 2025

A Russian disinformation network is actively manipulating AI chatbots to spread fake news and propaganda online, according to a new report from NewsGuard. The research shows that pro-Kremlin narratives are distorting the work of artificial …

Russia flooding training data to influence chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude
meduza.io · 2025

A Russian disinformation network called Pravda (“Truth”) has influenced leading AI chatbots’ output by publishing numerous articles that made their way into the bots’ training data, a new report from the analysis group NewsGuard reveals. Ac…

Russian Disinformation Infiltrates AI Systems - https://eutoday.net
eutoday.net · 2025

A Moscow-based propaganda network named "Pravda" has systematically infiltrated artificial intelligence (AI) systems worldwide, embedding Russian disinformation into leading generative AI tools, an audit by NewsGuard has revealed.

The audit…

3.6 million fake articles: how Russian propaganda influences the results of AI chatbots like OpenAI and Meta A
dev.ua · 2025

American disinformation research company NewsGuard has found evidence that the Moscow-based Pravda network, which is run by a web developer from Crimea, is publishing false statements to influence the responses of AI models.

According to Ne…

3.6 million fake articles: how Russian propaganda influences the results of AI chatbots like OpenAI and Meta A
dev.ua · 2025
AI Translated

The American disinformation research company NewsGuard has found evidence that the Moscow-based Pravda network, which is run by a Crimean web developer, is publishing false claims to influence the responses of AI models.

According to NewsGu…

Russian fake news network floods western AI chatbots with millions of propaganda articles
the-decoder.com · 2025

A Moscow-based disinformation operation is systematically feeding Russian propaganda into Western AI systems through a vast network of fake news sites called "Pravda" (Russian for "truth").

Recent findings from NewsGuard show that leading A…

Russian propaganda floods popular AI chatbots, spreading disinformation — NewsGuard report
english.nv.ua · 2025

Russian disinformation networks are infiltrating popular AI chatbots, spreading propaganda that could mislead millions, a NewsGuard investigation reported by Axios on March 6 revealed.

The alarming discovery comes as the United States repor…

Russian Disinformation 'Infects' Popular AI Chatbots
pcmag.com · 2025

A Russia-based disinformation network has successfully "infected" many of the world’s most popular AI chatbots with pro-Kremlin misinformation, according to a new report by NewsGuard.

Rather than targeting readers with propaganda directly, …

Russian disinformation 'infects' AI chatbots, researchers warn
france24.com · 2025

The Pravda network, a well-resourced Moscow-based operation to spread pro-Russian narratives globally, is said to be distorting the output of chatbots by flooding large language models (LLM) with pro-Kremlin falsehoods.

A study of 10 leadin…

Russian Propaganda Has Now Infected Western AI Chatbots — New Study
forbes.com · 2025

A troubling trend in which most western AI chatbots are unknowingly spreading Russian propaganda has been uncovered by a NewsGuard audit published last week. A Moscow-based disinformation network known as "Pravda" --- the Russian word for "…

AI chatbots 'infected' with Russian propaganda: report
newsweek.com · 2025

Disinformation from Russian news sources has compromised the results of several leading artificial intelligence chatbots, according to a new report.

Research from NewsGuard has revealed that pro-Russian narratives originating from a vast ne…

Russia ‘Infected’ Chatbots with Propaganda – AI Repeats Russian Fake Narratives in 33% of Cases
mil.in.ua · 2025

An audit has revealed that 10 of the leading generative AI tools repeat fake narratives from the Russian Pravda network in 33% of cases.

This finding comes from a special report by NewsGuard, with a concise summary provided by Militarnyi.

D…

Russian networks flood the Internet with propaganda, aiming to corrupt AI chatbots
thebulletin.org · 2025

Scientists, policy experts, and artists have been concerned about the unintended consequences of artificial intelligence since before the technology was readily available. With most technological innovations, it's common to ask whether that…

Russia seeds chatbots with lies. Any bad actor could game AI the same way.
washingtonpost.com · 2025

Russia is automating the spread of false information to fool artificial intelligence chatbots on key topics, offering a playbook to other bad actors on how to game AI to push content meant to inflame, influence and obfuscate instead of info…

Maybe AI Slop Is Killing the Internet, After All
bloomberg.com · 2025

Fil Menczer caught his first whiff of what he calls "social bots" in the early 2010s. He was mapping how information travels on Twitter when he stumbled onto a few clusters of accounts that looked a little suspicious. Some of them shared th…

Variants

A "variant" is an incident that shares the same causative factors, produces similar harms, and involves the same intelligent systems as a known AI incident. Rather than index variants as entirely separate incidents, we list variations of incidents under the first similar incident submitted to the database. Unlike other submission types to the incident database, variants are not required to have reporting in evidence external to the Incident Database. Learn more from the research paper.

Similar Incidents

Selected by our editors
Matryoshka Campaign Allegedly Uses Deepfakes to Impersonate Academics for Pro-Russian Propaganda

Matryoshka Campaign Allegedly Uses Deepfakes to Impersonate Academics for Pro-Russian Propaganda

Dec 2024 · 3 reports
By textual similarity

Did our AI mess up? Flag the unrelated incidents

Wikipedia Vandalism Prevention Bot Loop

Wikipedia Vandalism Prevention Bot Loop

Feb 2017 · 6 reports
AI-Generated Profiles Used in Disinformation Campaign Targeting Ukrainians

AI-Generated Profiles Used in Disinformation Campaign Targeting Ukrainians

Feb 2022 · 4 reports
Deepfake Obama Introduction of Deepfakes

Deepfake Obama Introduction of Deepfakes

Jul 2017 · 29 reports
Previous IncidentNext Incident

Similar Incidents

Selected by our editors
Matryoshka Campaign Allegedly Uses Deepfakes to Impersonate Academics for Pro-Russian Propaganda

Matryoshka Campaign Allegedly Uses Deepfakes to Impersonate Academics for Pro-Russian Propaganda

Dec 2024 · 3 reports
By textual similarity

Did our AI mess up? Flag the unrelated incidents

Wikipedia Vandalism Prevention Bot Loop

Wikipedia Vandalism Prevention Bot Loop

Feb 2017 · 6 reports
AI-Generated Profiles Used in Disinformation Campaign Targeting Ukrainians

AI-Generated Profiles Used in Disinformation Campaign Targeting Ukrainians

Feb 2022 · 4 reports
Deepfake Obama Introduction of Deepfakes

Deepfake Obama Introduction of Deepfakes

Jul 2017 · 29 reports

Research

  • Defining an “AI Incident”
  • Defining an “AI Incident Response”
  • Database Roadmap
  • Related Work
  • Download Complete Database

Project and Community

  • About
  • Contact and Follow
  • Apps and Summaries
  • Editor’s Guide

Incidents

  • All Incidents in List Form
  • Flagged Incidents
  • Submission Queue
  • Classifications View
  • Taxonomies

2024 - AI Incident Database

  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Open twitterOpen githubOpen rssOpen facebookOpen linkedin
  • 300d90c