UAE campaign used AI Claude to target Muslim Brotherhood and Sudan

The UAE recently used AI Claude, developed by American software company Anthropic, to target the Muslim Brotherhood and influence perceptions about its involvement in the war in Sudan. According to Anthropic's September intelligence threat report, a single actor used Claude to establish a network of around 300 inauthentic influencer accounts and carry out a coordinated transatlantic and regional operation to dismantle the Muslim Brotherhood globally.

The actor also constructed a front NGO that copied the identity of a real Swiss organization to publish state-authored human rights reports. They also ghostwrote official testimonies to be delivered by two individuals at the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council. The operation was designed to avoid detection, but Anthropic linked it with high confidence to UAE government officials.

The actor, known as "Deadshot," maintained a political doctrine file that instructed Claude to continue the mission across hundreds of sessions. The operation included creating counter-accountability dossiers on UN Special Rapporteurs who had criticized the UAE's conduct in Sudan, as well as individually profiled targeting lists for senior UAE officials.

The AI persona and system were hosted on a private platform, and embedded inside the system was a master doctrine file that guided the operation's workflow. However, it is unclear whether any of the testimonies or compiled target dossiers reached their intended audiences.