Russia has stepped up its malicious disinformation campaigns against France, French President Emmanuel Macron, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and this summer's Olympics in Paris. While Russia has a decades-long history of targeting the Olympics, the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center (MTAC) has observed a blend of old tactics and artificial intelligence (AI) in malicious activities as the 2024 Paris Opening Ceremony approaches. These activities may intensify further. These activities have two main objectives:
- Damaging the IOC’s reputation
- Raise expectations of violence at the Paris Olympics
Several probable Russian actors, tracked by Microsoft as Storm 1679 and Storm 1099, have shifted their operations to focus on the Olympics starting in June 2023. These insights are detailed in a special Microsoft Threat Intelligence Report published today.Russia's influence centres on the 2024 Paris Olympics. “
The Olympics have declined
The Olympics-focused activity began in June 2023 when Storm1679 published on Telegram and spread a feature film online titled “Olympus Has Fallen,” which mimicked the 2013 American political action thriller “Olympus Has Fallen.” The film used a fake AI-generated voice impersonating actor Tom Cruise to imply his participation and smear the IOC leadership. The use of sophisticated computer-generated special effects and an extensive marketing campaign, including fake endorsements from Western media and celebrities, indicates a significant increase in skill and effort compared to most influence operations (IO) campaigns.
Spreading fear of violence
Storm1679's goal is not just to defame the IOC. It also aims to spread fear among the public in order to discourage spectators from attending the Olympics. Over the past year, Storm1679 has continuously produced a series of deceptive videos predicting violence at the Olympics. Examples include:
- A video purportedly from Brussels-based outlet Euronews claimed that Parisians were buying property insurance in case of a terrorist attack at the Olympics.
- A fake video posing as French broadcaster France 24 claimed that 24% of tickets for the match had been returned due to fears of terrorism.
- Fake video press releases were produced, purporting to be from the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the French Directorate General for Internal Security (DGSI), warning potential participants to refrain from attending the 2024 Paris Olympics due to fears of terrorist attacks.
Figure 2: A fake video press release (left) warning the public about a possible terrorist attack at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. A fabricated France 24 news clip (right) alleging that nearly a quarter of Paris 2024 tickets have been returned due to terrorism concerns. Both forgeries were created by Russia-linked actor Storm-1679. - Storm1679 has also attempted to exploit the conflict between Israel and Hamas to fabricate threats to the Olympics. In November 2023, it posted an image claiming to show graffiti in Paris threatening violence against Israeli nationals attending the Olympics. Microsoft has assessed that the graffiti is digitally generated and unlikely to exist in a physical location.
- Other images and videos reference the 1972 Munich Olympics, where members of the militant group Black September killed 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team and one West German police officer. Microsoft does not currently have enough information to attribute the video to a specific individual, but its mass distribution by pro-Russian bot accounts suggests it may be a separate operation as part of a broader Olympic campaign.
Other Russian threat actors have also joined the fray
Storm-1679 is not the only Russian actor trying to undermine the 2024 Olympics. A Russian actor tracked by Microsoft as Storm-1099, better known as “Doppelganger,” has stepped up its anti-Olympics messaging in the past two months. The actor has used 15 French-language “news” sites, including the core disinformation outlet Reliable News Network (RNN), to claim widespread IOC corruption and warn of possible violence at the Olympics. The actor has also produced fake articles in French outlets Le Parisien and Le Point repeating these claims and criticizing President Macron and his government, his false staging of the Olympics, and his indifference to the difficulties facing the French people.
I'm looking forward to
July 26th, less than three months until the opening ceremony of the OlympicsNumberMTAC expects Russia's Olympics-focused nefarious activity to intensify. Operations primarily in French will expand to English, German and other languages to maximize online visibility and traction, and the use of generative AI may also increase. While video has traditionally been and will remain a powerful tool in Russian intelligence campaigns, we may see a tactical shift toward online bots and automated social media accounts that can rapidly flood social media channels to give the illusion of widespread support and provide Russia with plausible deniability.
On the ground, Russian actors may seek to capitalize on the attention to heavy security by creating the illusion of protests or real-world provocations to undermine trust in the IOC and French security forces. Hosting real or staged events near or around Olympic venues could be used to manipulate public perceptions and create a sense of fear and uncertainty.
Microsoft remains committed to protecting the operation and integrity of the 2024 Summer Olympics. MTAC will monitor and report on any campaigns by Kremlin-backed actors leading up to and during the opening of the Paris Games.
