Russian disinformation slams Paris and amplifies Khelif claims to undermine the Olympics

WASHINGTON (AP) — The actor in the viral music video denouncing the 2024 Olympics looks a lot like French President Emmanuel Macron. The images of rats, trash and the sewage, however, were dreamed up by artificial intelligence.

Portraying Paris as a crime-ridden cesspool, the video mocking the Games spread quickly on social media platforms like YouTube and X, helped on its way by 30,000 social media bots linked to a notorious Russian disinformation group that has set its sights on France before. Within days, the video was available in 13 languages, thanks to quick translation by AI.

“Paris, Paris, 1-2-3, go to Seine and make a pee,” taunts an AI-enhanced singer as the faux Macron actor dances in the background, seemingly a reference to water quality concerns in the Seine River where some competitions are taking place.

Moscow is making its presence felt during the Paris Games, with groups linked to Russia’s government using online disinformation and state propaganda to spread incendiary claims and attack the host country — showing how global events like the Olympics are now high-profile targets for online disinformation and propaganda.

Only a small number of approved Russian athletes were allowed compete as neutrals. Barring Russian athletes from competing under the country's flag or in team sports following the invasion of Ukraine all but guaranteed the Kremlin's response, said Gordon Crovitz, co-founder of NewsGuard, a firm that analyzes online misinformation. NewsGuard has tracked dozens of examples of disinformation targeting the Paris Games, including the fake music video.

Russia's disinformation campaign targeting the Olympics stands out for its technical skill, Crovitz said.

“What's different now is that they are perhaps the most advanced users of generative AI models for malign purposes: fake videos, fake music, fake websites," he said.

AI can be used to create lifelike images, audio and video, rapidly translate text and generate culturally specific content that sounds and reads like it was created by a human. The once labor-intensive work of creating fake social media accounts or websites and writing conversational posts can now be done quickly and cheaply.

Another video making the rounds this week claimed the CIA and U.S. State Department had warned Americans not to use the Paris metro. No such warning was issued, and French authorities later determined the video was created by a group linked to the Russian government, likely using AI.

Over the weekend, disinformation networks linked to the Kremlin seized on a divide over Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who has faced unsubstantiated questions about her gender. Khelif was assigned female at birth, but baseless claims that she is a man or transgender surfaced after a controversial boxing association with Russian ties said she failed an opaque eligibility test before last year's world boxing championships.

Russian networks amplified the debate, which quickly became a trending topic online. British news outlets, author J.K. Rowling and right-wing politicians like Donald Trump added to the deluge. At its height late last week, X users were posting about the boxer tens of thousands of times per hour, according to an analysis by PeakMetrics, a cyber firm that tracks online narratives.

The boxing group at the root of the claims — the International Boxing Association — has been permanently barred from the Olympics, has a Russian president who is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and its biggest sponsor is the state energy company Gazprom. Questions also have surfaced about its decision to disqualify Khelif last year after she had beaten a Russian boxer.

Russian state media has trumpeted some of the same false and misleading content. Instead of covering the athletic competitions, much of the coverage of the Olympics has focused on crime, immigration, litter and pollution.

One article in the state-run Sputnik news service summed it up: “These Paris ‘games’ sure are going swimmingly. Here’s an idea. Stop awarding the Olympics to the decadent, rotting west.”

Russia has used propaganda to disparage past Olympics, as it did when the then-Soviet Union boycotted the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. At the time, it distributed printed material to Olympic officials in Africa and Asia suggesting that non-white athletes would be hunted by racists in the U.S., according to an analysis from Microsoft Threat Intelligence, a unit within the technology company that studies malicious online actors.

Russia also has targeted past Olympic Games with cyberattacks.

“If they cannot participate in or win the Games, then they seek to undercut, defame, and degrade the international competition in the minds of participants, spectators, and global audiences,” analysts at Microsoft concluded.

A message left with the Russian government was not immediately returned on Monday.

Authorities in France have been on high alert for sabotage, cyberattacks or disinformation targeting the Games. A 40-year-old Russian man was arrested in France last month and charged with working for a foreign power to destabilize the European country ahead of the Games.

Other nations, criminal groups, extremist organizations and scam artists also are exploiting the Olympics to spread their own disinformation. Any global event like the Olympics — or a climate disaster or big election — that draws a lot of people online is likely to generate similar amounts of false and misleading claims, said Mark Calandra, executive vice president at CSC Digital Brand Services, a firm that tracks fraudulent activity online.

CSC's researchers noticed a sharp increase in fake website domain names being registered ahead of the Olympics. In many cases, groups set up sites that appear to provide Olympic content, or sell Olympic merchandise.

Instead, they're designed to collect information on the user. Sometimes it's a scam artist looking to steal personal financial data. In others, the sites are used by foreign governments to collect information on Americans — or as a way to spread more disinformation.

“Bad actors look for these global events,” Calandra said. “Whether they're positive events like the Olympics or more concerning ones, these people use everyone's heightened awareness and interest to try to exploit them."

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif speaks during an interview with SNTV at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Algeria's Imane Khelif, celebrates after defeating Hungary's Anna Hamori in their women's 66kg quarterfinal boxing match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Search lights shine above Eiffel Tower Stadium, the beach volleyball venue at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Athletes compete in the swimming race in the Seine River during the women's individual triathlon at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Paris, France. (Martin Bureau/Pool Photo via AP)

The sun sets behind the Olympic rings at the Olympic marina during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Marseille, France. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

LONDON (AP) — Harry Kane is set to start his 100th game for England, becoming only the 10th player in the team's history to reach that milestone.

Kane was named in England's starting lineup as captain for its UEFA Nations League game against Finland at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday.

The Bayern Munich striker will be the first England player since Wayne Rooney in 2014 to get to 100 caps and, at 31 and still one of world soccer’s most lethal strikers, is on track to break former goalkeeper Peter Shilton’s record of 125 appearances for the national team.

Kane's 100 games have included two European Championship finals — one lost to Italy in 2021, the other to Spain this year — and a World Cup semifinal appearance in 2018. That's the closest England has come to a major trophy since winning the 1966 World Cup.

Kane made his England debut in 2015 against Lithuania under manager Roy Hodgson, and current caretaker manager Lee Carsley is the fourth different coach of his national team career.

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England's Harry Kane attends a training session of England's national soccer team in London, England, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)