By Matt Lennon
Publication Date: 2026-01-20 03:17:00
Described as the world’s first social media “wargame,” the Capture the Narrative project was conducted to explore how small teams equipped with consumer-grade or over-the-counter generative base AI can build bot networks capable of flooding a platform with content and influencing voter behavior.
After the Bondi Beach attack that left 15 people and a gunman dead, AI-generated and manipulated posts included images depicting human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky as a “crisis actor” who was made up by human artists to appear as if he had been shot. Ostrovsky, who also survived Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, was there on Bondi Beach and was featured in media interviews immediately after the shooting, covered in blood and bandages.
AFP, a fact-checking unit affiliated with news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP), confirmed that these images were “deepfakes” and that they were created by AI bots and spread with false narratives about Ostrowski’s involvement…