Pro-Russian Propaganda Uses AI to Flood Streaming Platforms
Nonprofit Terrecon identified nearly 1,000 AI-generated songs glorifying the invasion of Ukraine distributed across global streaming services like Spotify and YouTube.
The nonprofit threat intelligence organization Terrecon has identified 981 AI-generated songs used as pro-Russian propaganda to glorify the invasion of Ukraine and dehumanize Ukrainians. Many of these tracks appeared after 2024 and were distributed across global streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and Deezer. The songs often romanticize military sacrifice or praise Russian weaponry, exemplified by the track Power of Artillery.
While direct Kremlin involvement remains unclear, the Moscow-based Internet Development Institute has promoted more than 350 war-related artistic projects. Terrecon found that AI generators such as Suno, Udio, and Google Flow Music frequently fail to block propaganda prompts unless specific banned words are used. Daria Verbytska, the founder of Terrecon, noted that AI generators make the production of such content easier, faster, and cheaper.
Streaming platforms have attempted to mitigate the issue through new policies. Spotify enacted a policy in September to label AI-generated songs and stop recommending them, while YouTube requires AI disclosure and removed a test propaganda song following an inquiry. However, researchers argue that current moderation systems struggle to detect martial themes and idiomatic slurs in foreign languages.
