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The author appealed to Polish-American voters, claiming that Trump had decided their money would fund Putin’s missiles and drones. The author said the weapons killed innocent Ukrainians every day and were already flying into Poland, then began referring to what voters’ parents and grandparents knew about Russia. #Poland #Ukraine #Trump #PL #RU #UA

Russia’s war propaganda gets a soundtrack – how AI-generated songs reached global streaming platforms Russian war propaganda is no longer confined to television broadcasts, Telegram channels or political videos. A study by the Ukrainian threat-intelligence organisation Terrecon has identified 981 songs combining signs of AI generation with pro-Russian military narratives, distributed through an ecosystem that reaches YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and SoundCloud. The songs range from sentimental ballads to rock and heavy metal. Their recurring themes are familiar from conventional Russian wartime propaganda: the heroisation of Russian soldiers, romanticisation of the war, mobilisation, the “Russian world”, commemoration of fallen troops and attacks on Ukraine and its armed forces. Some contain derogatory or dehumanising references to Ukrainians. What is new is not necessarily the message, but the production and distribution model: generative AI allows propagandistic music to be produced rapidly, cheaply and in quantities that would previously have required musicians, studios and producers. Nearly 1,000 tracks identified Terrecon examined 3,725 tracks collected from YouTube, YouTube Music, SoundCloud and the AI music platform Suno. After manual review, researchers classified 981 as showing both indications of AI generation and pro-Russian war propaganda. In 681 tracks they identified 728 propaganda-related keywords or phrases. The largest category was the glorification of the Russian military, followed by romanticised treatment of Moscow’s so-called “special military operation”, mobilisation appeals, narratives about the “Russian world”, and the cult of fallen soldiers and the state. The reach was not merely theoretical. Listening or viewing statistics were available for 608 of the identified tracks; together they had accumulated 86.8 million plays and views, according to Terrecon. A smaller group of 13 high-performing songs accounted for more than 53 million YouTube views and more than 67 million when YouTube Music was included. Among the better-known examples is “Power of Artillery”, a Russian-language rock song praising artillery weapons that passed two million views on YouTube. Most of the tracks for which publication dates could be established appeared after 2024, broadly coinciding with the rapid expansion of consumer AI music generators such as Suno and Udio. That correlation does not prove that AI alone caused the increase, but it illustrates how drastically the economics of production have changed. A propaganda song for as little as $11 Terrecon also tested how difficult it would be to commission such material. Researchers approached 25 creators producing AI-assisted militaristic music; 15 agreed to take commissions. Prices ranged from approximately $11 to $330, while delivery times ranged from two hours to three days. According to Terrecon, some were prepared to produce highly aggressive anti-Ukrainian material, including content intended for audiences involving children from occupied Ukrainian territories. Some creators used Russian intermediary services that provided access to Western AI tools such as Suno and Udio despite restrictions. The researchers then tested several AI generators themselves. Across 40 prompts submitted to Suno, Udio, Mureka, Google Flow Music and ElevenLabs, 25 resulted in successful generations, while safeguards were circumvented in 15 cases. Terrecon reported that four of the five services tested produced Russian-language material containing wartime narratives, although technical problems prevented comparable testing on some systems. In one Udio experiment, the researchers said the model itself introduced more explicit violent language than had appeared in the original promp These tests do not demonstrate that the commercial platforms knowingly support Russian propaganda. They show something narrower: existing safeguards can be inconsistent when political messaging is packaged as music. From generation to Spotify The distribution experiment may be the most revealing part of Terrecon’s research. The team deliberately uploaded test tracks containing explicit hostile language to YouTube, SoundCloud, Spotify and Deezer. Terrecon says none was blocked during the experiment. On SoundCloud, researchers used an account identifying its location as Moscow, disclosed the use of AI and added markers including references to the Russian military and the war. The platform accepted the upload and subsequently offered paid promotional and distribution tools. This does not prove that streaming recommendation systems systematically promote pro-war music. There is currently insufficient public evidence to make that claim. It does demonstrate that material can enter the same commercial distribution infrastructure as ordinary music and, once there, potentially benefit from playlists, searches, sharing and recommendation mechanisms available to other releases. That distinction is important. Propaganda no longer has to announce itself as political communication. On a streaming platform it can look like another song. Culture as a delivery mechanism Music has always been used in wartime propaganda. What generative AI changes is scale. Instead of investing heavily in a limited number of patriotic performers or officially commissioned productions, creators can generate variations across styles, audiences and emotional registers at very low cost. Terrecon found material ranging from war rock to sentimental songs and content styled for younger audiences. Some creators also experimented with cloned celebrity voices and stylistic imitation of established musicians. The format also offers a different relationship with the audience. A political video asks a viewer to consume an argument. Music can accompany commuting, exercise or entertainment and may be encountered outside explicitly political spaces. This does not automatically make it more persuasive, and Terrecon’s research does not establish measurable effects on political attitudes. It does, however, place wartime narratives inside a cultural environment where users may not initially perceive themselves as consuming political messaging. An ecosystem, not a proven Kremlin command structure The strongest evidence supports describing this as a growing AI-assisted pro-Russian propaganda-music ecosystem, not a single operation controlled from Moscow. Terrecon did not establish that the Russian government created, financed or coordinated all 981 tracks. Reporting on the study likewise notes that the extent of direct state involvement remains unclear. There is broader evidence that the Russian state finances cultural projects and digital content supporting the war, including through state-backed funding bodies. That context matters, but it does not allow individual songs in Terrecon’s dataset to be attributed to the Kremlin without additional evidence. The significance of the case lies elsewhere. AI has reduced the cost of producing ideological content, intermediaries can help creators access generation tools, and global platforms can provide distribution. The result is a pipeline in which wartime propaganda no longer has to resemble propaganda at all. It can simply appear in a playlist. Sources Terrecon / Ukrainska Pravda — Daria Verbytska on the research https://www.pravda.com.ua/columns/2026/10/05/8056229/ Suspilne Culture — detailed breakdown of Terrecon findings https://suspilne.media/culture/1417933-rosijsku-voennu-propagandu-maskuut-pid-anime-karaoke-ta-rok-doslidzenna-si-pisen-vid-terrecon/ The Insider — AI-generated Russian war propaganda music https://theins.ru/news/297839 Institute of Mass Information — summary of New York Times reporting https://imi.org.ua/en/news/doslidzhennya-rf-masovo-stvoryu%D1%94-propagandistski-pisni-za-dopomogoyu-shi The Bridge Media — AI-generated songs and Russian military propaganda https://thebridgemedia.com.ua/en/ai-generated-songs-russian-military-propaganda/ Center for Strategic Communication — cost and production of AI propaganda music https://spravdi.org/propaganda-za-11-yak-rosiya-shtampuye-shi-pisni-z-miljonamy-prosluhovuvan/ Times of India — AI-generated Russian war songs https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/ai-sings-russias-war-story-inside-the-rise-of-generative-songs-about-ukraine-conflict/articleshow/134650594.cms EU Council / EUR-Lex — Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32026D1351 Human Rights Watch — Russian state funding of digital and patriotic content https://www.hrw.org/report/2025/07/30/disrupted-throttled-and-blocked/state-censorship-control-and-increasing-isolation #DISINFORMED #Episode16 #Russia #Ukraine #RussianPropaganda #WarPropaganda #MusicPropaganda #AIMusic #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #GenerativeAI #SyntheticMedia #AIPropaganda #Disinformation #InformationWarfare #InfluenceOperations #CulturalPropaganda #DigitalInfluence #NarrativeManipulation #PropagandaMusic #StreamingPlatforms #Spotify #AppleMusic #YouTube #YouTubeMusic #Deezer #SoundCloud #Suno #Udio #RussianWorld #RusskiyMir #MilitaryPropaganda #WarNarratives #Mobilisation #AlgorithmicDistribution #RecommendationAlgorithms #MusicStreaming #PlatformManipulation #Terrecon #OSINT #MediaManipulation #WRLD

The author wrote that Russia was pursuing a deliberate strategy of terror aimed at making daily life impossible for Ukrainians seeking peace. They said Europe was stepping up efforts to protect people and infrastructure and called on others to increase their support. https://t.co/BgxpVexT7j https://t.co/tJU08tEN3N #Ukraine #Europe #Peace #RU #UA #EU

The post’s author wrote that Russia continued to deliberately target civilians and civilian infrastructure, and said drone and missile strikes remained a daily reality across Ukraine. The author said more than 15,000 civilian casualties had been documented this year and claimed that Putin sought to deprive Ukrainians of heat and electricity. #Ukraine #Putin #WarCrimes #RU #UA

The author said they began a visit to Riga by laying flowers at the Freedom Monument with colleague Baiba Braže. They described it as a symbol of Latvia’s independence and sovereignty, honouring those who died for freedoms that Latvians, like Estonians, had to fight for. The post then began a statement about Ukrainians and included a link. https://t.co/KFPBa173ti #Riga #Latvia #Freedom #LV #EE #UA

HEROES HANG WHEN TRAITORS TRIUMPH. Mike Walsh. FORBIDDEN HISTORY: A legendary Briton who shaped the Middle East. A Norwegian knighted for helping to save the lives of millions of Ukrainians. A gifted Irish-American pacifist, a Nobel Prize-winning writer. A student who led his nation in an anti-Communist conflict: The Allies murdered them. https://barnesreview.org/product/heroes-hang-when-traitors-triumph-martyrs-of-world-war-ii/

HEROES HANG WHEN TRAITORS TRIUMPH. Mike Walsh. FORBIDDEN HISTORY: A legendary Briton who shaped the Middle East. A Norwegian knighted for helping to save the lives of millions of Ukrainians. A gifted Irish-American pacifist, a Nobel Prize-winning writer. A student who led his nation in an anti-Communist conflict: The Allies murdered them. https://barnesreview.org/product/heroes-hang-when-traitors-triumph-martyrs-of-world-war-ii/

Russia’s occupation is starving Ukrainians in Oleshky. In the Russian-occupied Kherson region, food deliveries to Oleshky have been cut off since the end of May. Around 6,000 civilians remain in the wider Oleshky community, including about 180 children. DW reports that local https://t.co/SFsLKSGJYN #Oleshky #Russia #Ukraine #UA #RU

HEROES HANG WHEN TRAITORS TRIUMPH. Mike Walsh. FORBIDDEN HISTORY: A legendary Briton who shaped the Middle East. A Norwegian knighted for helping to save the lives of millions of Ukrainians. A gifted Irish-American pacifist, a Nobel Prize-winning writer. A student who led his nation in an anti-Communist conflict: The Allies murdered them. https://barnesreview.org/product/heroes-hang-when-traitors-triumph-martyrs-of-world-war-ii/

HEROES HANG WHEN TRAITORS TRIUMPH. Mike Walsh. FORBIDDEN HISTORY: A legendary Briton who shaped the Middle East. A Norwegian knighted for helping to save the lives of millions of Ukrainians. A gifted Irish-American pacifist, a Nobel Prize-winning writer. A student who led his nation in an anti-Communist conflict: The Allies murdered them. https://barnesreview.org/product/heroes-hang-when-traitors-triumph-martyrs-of-world-war-ii/

Good to speak with President @ZelenskyyUa about our energy work in Ukraine. @UNDP colleagues are racing against the clock to get as much energy capacity online as possible ahead of winter. Ukrainians should not face this winter alone. https://t.co/plqxjO23G2 #Ukraine #Energy #WinterReady #UA

I ACCUSE Serbia and Russia I accuse Russian authorities and forces of conflict-related sexual violence against Ukrainians. The UN Human Rights Office has documented 1,004 cases of sexual violence from February 2022 through July 2026, with 89% attributed to Russian authorities, https://t.co/peH1gnuMSa #StopRussia #HumanRights #UkraineWar #RS #UA #RU

It’s a distraction. Hungary is facing down an ungodly energy crisis. @magyarpeterMP is not sure he can get carve-outs from DC on continued Russian energy imports. The country is facing down shortages so he’s picking a fake fight with the Ukrainians. It won’t keep oil flowing. 🇭🇺 #Hungary #EnergyCrisis #Ukraine #HU #UA

There are not many Western leaders who could call Zelenskyy and demand anything. Ukraine has shown that decisions about the destiny of Ukraine will be made by Ukrainians, not by the leaders of Great Powers huddled together around a map. https://t.co/W5SL8kD3GX #Zelenskyy #Ukraine #GreatPowers #UA #US #GB