John Mark Dougan
Incidents involved as both Developer and Deployer
Incident 9694 Report
Russian Disinformation Campaign Allegedly Used Fake News Site 'KBSF-San Francisco News' and Deepfake Video to Falsely Accuse Kamala Harris of 2011 Hit-and-Run
2024-09-02
A Russian disinformation campaign allegedly used a fake news site, "KBSF-San Francisco News," and an AI-generated deepfake video to falsely accuse Kamala Harris of a 2011 hit-and-run accident in San Francisco. The deepfake featured a fabricated African-American victim, whose AI-generated testimony spread widely across social media. Microsoft identified the hoax as part of Russian cyber influence operations targeting the 2024 U.S. election, with the site registered in Iceland.
MoreIncidents involved as Deployer
Incident 70136 Report
American Asylum Seeker John Mark Dougan in Russia Reportedly Spreads Disinformation via AI Tools and Fake News Network
2024-05-29
John Mark Dougan, a former Florida sheriff's deputy granted asylum in Russia, has been implicated in spreading disinformation. Utilizing AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT and DALL-E 3, Dougan created over 160 fake news sites, disseminating false narratives to millions worldwide. His actions align with Russian disinformation strategies targeting Western democracies. See also Incident 734.
MoreIncident 96825 Report
'Pravda' Network, Successor to 'Portal Kombat,' Allegedly Seeding AI Models with Kremlin Disinformation
2022-02-24
A Moscow-based disinformation network, Pravda, allegedly infiltrated AI models by flooding the internet with pro-Kremlin falsehoods. A NewsGuard audit found that 10 major AI chatbots repeated these narratives 33% of the time, citing Pravda sources as legitimate. The tactic, called "LLM grooming," manipulates AI training data to embed Russian propaganda. Pravda is part of Portal Kombat, a larger Russian disinformation network identified by VIGINUM in February 2024, but in operation since February 2022.
MoreIncident 92916 Report
Sustained AI-Driven Russian Disinformation Campaigns Doppelgänger, Storm-1516, and Matryoshka Reportedly Disrupting German Federal Elections
2024-12-06
Leading up to Germany’s February 23, 2025, federal election, the alleged Russian Doppelgänger, Storm-1516, and Matryoshka (Operation Overload) disinformation campaigns have reportedly been deploying AI-generated deepfake videos and fake news sites to spread false claims about German politicians and public figures. AI-powered bots have allegedly been amplifying the content across social media. Researchers suggest the campaign sought to erode trust in Germany’s democratic process. Germany's domestic intelligence agency (BfV) described the scale as unprecedented.
MoreIncident 7344 Report
Leading AI Models Reportedly Found to Mimic Russian Disinformation in 33% of Cases and to Cite Fake Moscow News Sites
2024-06-18
An audit by NewsGuard revealed that leading chatbots, including ChatGPT-4, You.com’s Smart Assistant, and others, repeated Russian disinformation narratives in one-third of their responses. These narratives originated from a network of fake news sites created by John Mark Dougan (Incident 701). The audit tested 570 prompts across 10 AI chatbots, showing that AI remains a tool for spreading disinformation despite efforts to prevent misuse.
MoreRelated Entities
Other entities that are related to the same incident. For example, if the developer of an incident is this entity but the deployer is another entity, they are marked as related entities.
Related Entities
Unknown voice cloning technology
Incidents implicated systems
- Incident 70136 Reports
American Asylum Seeker John Mark Dougan in Russia Reportedly Spreads Disinformation via AI Tools and Fake News Network
- Incident 92916 Reports
Sustained AI-Driven Russian Disinformation Campaigns Doppelgänger, Storm-1516, and Matryoshka Reportedly Disrupting German Federal Elections
Unknown deepfake apps
Incidents implicated systems
- Incident 70136 Reports
American Asylum Seeker John Mark Dougan in Russia Reportedly Spreads Disinformation via AI Tools and Fake News Network
- Incident 92916 Reports
Sustained AI-Driven Russian Disinformation Campaigns Doppelgänger, Storm-1516, and Matryoshka Reportedly Disrupting German Federal Elections
Perplexity
Incidents involved as both Developer and Deployer
Incidents involved as Developer
Inflection
Incidents involved as both Developer and Deployer
Incidents involved as Developer
Electoral integrity
Incidents Harmed By
- Incident 92916 Reports
Sustained AI-Driven Russian Disinformation Campaigns Doppelgänger, Storm-1516, and Matryoshka Reportedly Disrupting German Federal Elections
- Incident 7344 Reports
Leading AI Models Reportedly Found to Mimic Russian Disinformation in 33% of Cases and to Cite Fake Moscow News Sites
Government of Russia
Incidents involved as both Developer and Deployer
Incidents involved as Deployer
Truth
Incidents Harmed By
- Incident 96825 Reports
'Pravda' Network, Successor to 'Portal Kombat,' Allegedly Seeding AI Models with Kremlin Disinformation
- Incident 9694 Reports
Russian Disinformation Campaign Allegedly Used Fake News Site 'KBSF-San Francisco News' and Deepfake Video to Falsely Accuse Kamala Harris of 2011 Hit-and-Run
Kamala Harris
Incidents Harmed By
- Incident 9694 Reports
Russian Disinformation Campaign Allegedly Used Fake News Site 'KBSF-San Francisco News' and Deepfake Video to Falsely Accuse Kamala Harris of 2011 Hit-and-Run
- Incident 9722 Reports
Russian Influence Operation Allegedly Uses AI to Create Fake Kamala Harris Campaign Website and Rhino-Hunting Hoax
Unknown deepfake app
Incidents implicated systems
- Incident 9694 Reports
Russian Disinformation Campaign Allegedly Used Fake News Site 'KBSF-San Francisco News' and Deepfake Video to Falsely Accuse Kamala Harris of 2011 Hit-and-Run
- Incident 9722 Reports
Russian Influence Operation Allegedly Uses AI to Create Fake Kamala Harris Campaign Website and Rhino-Hunting Hoax