AI sings Russia's war story: Kremlin's unexpected soundtrack of Ukraine's conflict
Among the songs whose release dates could be established, most appeared after 2024. That coincided with the wider availability of AI music generators such as Sudo and Udio. It is not clear how much involvement, if any, the Russian government has had in producing or distributing the songs. However, the Kremlin has supported cultural projects aimed at promoting patriotic themes.
In recent months, artificial intelligence has been utilized to create a multitude of songs reflective of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with some promoting Russia's invasion in a positive light while criticizing Ukraine. According to Terrecon, a Ukrainian nonprofit organization specializing in threat intelligence, hundreds of such tracks have emerged on prominent music streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Deezer.
These songs encompass various musical styles, ranging from ballads to heavy metal. Some of them praise Russian soldiers, depict the war from a Russian perspective, and include derogatory references to Ukrainians, including ethnic slurs. One of the most popular tracks identified by Terrecon is "Power of Artillery," a Russian-language rock song focusing on artillery systems such as Krasnopol and Carnation.
Terrecon has catalogued 981 AI-generated songs containing pro-Russian war propaganda. Most of these songs appeared after 2024, coinciding with the increased availability of AI music generators like Sudo and Udio. Daria Verbytska, a co-founder of Terrecon, explained that the technology has reduced the time and cost associated with producing music, enabling the creation of massive propaganda efforts with the help of AI, much like drones.
While it is unclear if the Russian government has directly involved in producing or distributing these songs, the Kremlin has backed cultural projects aimed at promoting patriotic themes. In a recent presentation, a director of Moscow's Internet Development Institute, a Kremlin-associated organization promoting patriotic values, mentioned that the institute had supported over 350 artistic projects related to the war, according to Russian media reports.
Terrecon also tested several AI music generators, including Suno, Udio, Google Flow Music, and Mureka, with prompts requesting songs promoting Russian views of the war. The platforms rejected some prompts, but researchers were still able to generate songs resembling those in Terrecon's database, which they subsequently uploaded to YouTube Music and SoundCloud. The researchers noted that moderation systems often responded to specific banned words rather than the overall meaning of the prompts.
Major music platforms generally have policies covering hate speech and violent content, although fewer have specific rules addressing propaganda. Streaming platforms like Deezer and YouTube require certain AI-generated content to be labeled, while Spotify introduced a policy in September to label AI-generated songs and prevent them from being recommended to users.
Terrecon stated that the identified songs have been played millions of times across major streaming services, though it remains unclear if listeners understand that some of the music is AI-generated or politically motivated.
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