Russia teaches foreigners AI propaganda

Russia stops propaganda. It trains those who will carry it out in your own country

Moscow is propagandizing. It's not news; we have known this for some time. The most interesting thing is how Moscow is organizing to run that propaganda remotely, without having to deal with it directly anymore. The mechanism is vividly reconstructed in the new report from the Institute for the Study of War on Russian cognitive warfare. The Kremlin is building an international network of journalists, influencers and young media professionals, trained through programs run by Sputnik, RT, Rossotrudnichestvo and other structures linked to the Russian state. It is not about convincing anyone of something today. It is about training people who will produce information tomorrow, in their own countries, in their own language, in their own newsrooms. Classic propaganda has always needed a propagandist. This strategy builds an entire ecosystem of propagandists, and makes it pervasive without anyone having to coordinate it from the center anymore. Where artificial intelligence comes in. According to ISW, between July 2025 and July 2026 SputnikPro and RT Academy organized at least fifty international journalism training events. About half have incorporated modules on artificial intelligence.

Journalisten controleren de macht, en doen dus ook onderzoek naar het AI-gebruik van de premier