Russia is actively manufacturing disinformation about the Middle East as tensions continue to soar following Israel’s military campaign, according to Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith, the Times of Israel reported.
“We are getting very good at identifying a Russian campaign, like when they tried to tell people not to get the COVID vaccine,” he said.
Tech giants are increasingly using artificial intelligence systems to combat disinformation activities by state actors.
Social media narratives in the Israel-Hamas conflict are extremely divisive in western societies with both sides experiencing frustration.
“There’s something happening in terms of the reaction to this crisis that is unlike anything I can remember in recent years, maybe even dating back to the Gulf War and other episodes of U.S. policy in the Middle East,” said Suzanne Maloney, a director at the Brookings Institution.
Martin Fornusek
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