Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, has revealed that the platform recently identified a user in Pakistan who was using a network of accounts to spread artificial intelligence (AI)-generated videos, amid the ongoing war involving the USA, Israel and Iran. Bier said the user hacked into 31 accounts for his operations to push fabricated, pro-Iran content on the platform.
“Last night, we found a guy in Pakistan that was managing 31 accounts posting AI war videos,” Bier wrote on X. “All were hacked, and the usernames were changed on Feb 27 to ‘Iran War Monitor’ or some derivative.”
Bier highlighted that the X team was getting faster at detecting such users and also “eliminating the incentive” to engage in such behaviour, especially at the time of war.
Quizzed if someone was paying these accounts to run AI-generated propaganda, Bier pointed out it was just ‘broke’ individuals looking to earn quick payouts.
“It’s just broke people trying to scalp creator rev share and jumping on any relevant trend,” he said, adding: “In 99 per cent of cases, it’s just people looking to game monetisation. But to answer your question, yes we did a sweep of “IDF Girl” accounts that were run out of Pakistan recently. The only thing they care about is what gets impressions, not the political leaning.”
Creators Will Be Suspended
After the war began, Bier informed that X users who post “AI-generated videos of an armed conflict,” without stating that the footage was made with AI, will be suspended from the platform’s creator revenue sharing programme. Creator revenue sharing allows eligible users to earn money on X. To earn eligibility, users must have a sizable reach.
“During times of war, it is critical that people have access to authentic information on the ground. With today’s AI technologies, it is trivial to create content that can mislead people,” Bier wrote in a post.
If a user violates the AI policy a second time, they will be permanently suspended from earning revenue, Bier added.
