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

Russia conducted a large-scale disinformation campaign around the Jewish pilgrimage to Uman, using AI-generated videos on TikTok to falsely claim that Jews are being paid by the Ukrainian government to settle permanently in Ukraine. The campaign aims to stoke antisemitic sentiments and destabilize Ukrainian society, according to Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation. The disinformation was traced back to a 2019 text by a former Russian presidential adviser.

Russia conducted a large-scale disinformation campaign surrounding the annual Jewish pilgrimage to Uman, Ukraine, for Rosh Hashanah, according to Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD). The campaign used AI-generated videos on Russian-controlled TikTok accounts, featuring fake pilgrims claiming they are moving to Ukraine permanently and receiving payments of 200,000 hryvnias from the Ukrainian government, along with special benefits and plans to make Uman an independent entity. CCD stated the campaign is entirely disinformation, noting that the pilgrimage is a temporary religious event after which pilgrims return home, and that Ukraine has no programs to encourage foreign relocation. The CCD said the goal is to destabilize Ukrainian society and artificially provoke antisemitic sentiments. The disinformation campaign was traced back to a 2019 text by then-adviser to the Russian president Sergey Glazyev, and has evolved over months, with the Matryoshka network and Telegram channels amplifying the narrative. The article notes that real elements—such as the presence of Israeli police coordinating with Ukrainian forces and a genuine Ukrainian state payment of 200,000 hryvnias for a different purpose—were twisted to fit the false resettlement narrative.