Islamic State supporters created an AI-generated news program called News Harvest using AI voice cloning and video generation tools to produce propaganda videos justifying terrorist attacks and spreading extremist messaging.
In March 2024, Islamic State supporters launched an AI-generated media program called News Harvest, creating fake news broadcasts using AI-generated anchors to spread propaganda. The program began four days after ISIS attacked a Russian concert venue on March 22, 2024, killing at least 133 people. A supporter named Hisad created the first 92-second video on March 26, featuring an AI-generated news anchor in military gear claiming the Moscow attack was part of a 'raging war between the Islamic State and countries fighting Islam.' The videos were designed to resemble Al Jazeera news broadcasts and were distributed on private messaging platforms affiliated with the terrorist group. Since March, six News Harvest episodes have been produced, providing overviews of Islamic State operations globally including in Niger, Cameroon, Iraq, Syria, and Nigeria. The AI technology likely included voice cloning tools such as ElevenLabs and video generation software. The program represents the emergence of AI as a propaganda tool for terrorist organizations, allowing them to create professional-looking content quickly and cheaply. The videos sparked internal debate among ISIS supporters about whether AI-generated human faces violate Islamic law, leading to later episodes featuring blurred or cartoonish faces.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
Using AI systems to conduct large-scale disinformation campaigns, malicious surveillance, or targeted and sophisticated automated censorship and propaganda, with the aim of manipulating political processes, public opinion, and behavior.
Human
Due to a decision or action made by humans
Intentional
Due to an expected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed