Russia spreads AI fakes claiming Jews are being paid to settle in Ukraine

Russia conducted a large-scale disinformation campaign during the Jewish pilgrimage to Uman, Ukraine, according to Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD). Russian-controlled TikTok accounts circulated AI-generated videos featuring fake pilgrims claiming to receive 200,000 hryvnias from the Ukrainian government and special benefits to permanently relocate to Ukraine, with plans to make Uman an independent entity. The CCD stated this is "entirely disinformation," emphasizing that the pilgrimage is temporary and there are no government programs for foreign resettlement. The campaign, traced back to 2019, aims to "exploit the heightened attention surrounding the event in order to destabilize Ukrainian society from within and artificially provoke antisemitic sentiments."