Associated Incidents
Four days after the Islamic State attacked a Russian concert venue in March, a video started circulating on a private platform affiliated with the terrorist group. The 92-second broadcast showed a news anchor in a helmet and fatigues saying the attack was not a terrorist operation, but part of "the normal context of the raging war between the Islamic State and countries fighting Islam."
The "anchor" was fake, an artificial intelligence-generated clone created by Islamic State supporters as part of a new AI-generated media program called News Harvest, according to videos and chat messages shared with The Washington Post by SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks terrorist and extremist movements online.
Since March, the program has offered near-weekly video dispatches about Islamic State operations around the globe. Made to resemble an Al Jazeera news broadcast, the program --- which has not been previously reported on --- marks the emergence of AI as a powerful propaganda tool as Islamic State affiliates gain steam and rebuild the group's media operations, said Rita Katz, co-founder of SITE Intelligence Group.
Read the rest of the story at The Washington Post.