Policy Brief No. 227 — February 2026
From Trolls to Generative AI: Russia’s Disinformation Evolution Daniela Iampolsca Key Points → Kremlin information warfare has evolved from human-driven troll farms to campaigns powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI) that are able to create deepfakes, fake online personas and synthetic news at unprecedented scale and speed. → The war in Ukraine illustrates how generative AI enhances Russia’s propaganda and psychological operations, acting as a test ground for tactics later employed elsewhere. → Across Europe and the Global South, generative AI-driven manipulation increasingly threatens elections and public trust by blurring the line between fabricated and authentic information. → Generative AI is not inherently a problem; its misuse is. The same technology used for manipulation can also build resilience. To protect information integrity, democracies should invest in generative AI-assisted detection and analysis tools, media literacy, and pre-bunking programs, and establish coordinated monitoring systems.
Introduction The purposeful distortion of information has long been a political strategy but generative AI has accelerated its speed and scale (Kalpokas 2024). In contemporary Russia, it has become a fundamental component of foreign and security policy. Moscow views the information sphere not only as a supplement to traditional warfare but also as a battleground in its own right, where command of narratives can yield military, social and political advantages (Mitrović 2023). The Kremlin has consistently and adaptively invested in disinformation, influenced by both the lessons learned from previous campaigns and technology advancements (Polyakova and Fried 2019). The significance of disinformation in hybrid warfare has been heightened by the war in Ukraine, which started in 2014 and sharply intensified in 2022. Observers have referred to it as “the first TikTok war” and “the first AI war,” highlighting its role as a test ground for cutting-edge propaganda strategies and technological competition for informational supremacy (Chayka 2022). By utilizing information operations, Russia has attempted to demoralize Ukrainian soldiers and civilians on the battlefield