US military eyes AI-driven propaganda to influence foreign audiences

The United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is exploring the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to develop and deploy propaganda campaigns aimed at influencing foreign populations and suppressing dissenting voices.

The document, a technological wishlist outlining capabilities SOCOM hopes to acquire within five to seven years, details plans for advanced sensors, directed energy weapons, and AI-enabled information warfare tools. Among these ambitions is the procurement of machine-learning software capable of executing large-scale influence operations with limited human oversight, The Intercept reports.

To enhance its “Advanced Technology Augmentations to Military Information Support Operations,” or MISO, SOCOM is actively seeking a contractor that can “Provide a capability leveraging agentic AI or multi‐LLM agent systems with specialized roles to increase the scale of influence operations.”

Agentic systems, which use machine-learning models to operate autonomously or semi-autonomously, are frequently paired with large language models (LLMs) such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT. These models can rapidly generate persuasive messaging tailored to various audiences in real time — a feature SOCOM views as vital in the fast-moving online information landscape.

“The information environment moves too fast for military remembers [sic] to adequately engage and influence an audience on the internet,” the document states. “Having a program built to support our objectives can enable us to control narratives and influence audiences in real time.”

While US law and Department of Defense policies generally prohibit the military from conducting propaganda campaigns on domestic audiences, the global nature of the internet makes enforcing that distinction increasingly difficult.

In a statement to The Intercept, SOCOM spokesperson Dan Lessard confirmed the military’s pursuit of “cutting-edge, AI-enabled capabilities,” but emphasized compliance with ethical standards. “All AI-enabled capabilities are developed and employed under the Department of Defense’s Responsible AI framework, which ensures accountability and transparency by requiring human oversight and decision-making,” he said. “USSOCOM’s internet-based MISO efforts are aligned with US law and policy. These operations do not target the American public and are designed to support national security objectives in the face of increasingly complex global challenges.”

Despite concerns over factual accuracy and reliability, LLMs offer unparalleled speed and scale for generating content across styles — from “casual trolling to pseudo-academic.” A 2024 study published in PNAS Nexus found that “language models can generate text that is nearly as persuasive for US audiences as content we sourced from real-world foreign covert propaganda campaigns.”

By Vafa Guliyeva