---
title: "More Sophistication, Less Slop: Russian and Chinese malign influence actors are working smarter in the age of AI"
url: https://daily.dev/posts/more-sophistication-less-slop-russian-and-chinese-malign-influence-actors-are-working-smarter-in-t-mndryn74k
source_url: https://twosixtech.com/blog/more-sophistication-less-slop-russian-and-chinese-malign-influence-actors-are-working-smarter-in-the-age-of-ai
type: article
source: "Two Six Technologies"
published: 2026-06-12T15:06:14.075Z
updated: 2026-06-12T15:06:44.288Z
tags: ["machine-learning"]
reading_time: 7
upvotes: 0
comments: 0
language: en
---

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# More Sophistication, Less Slop: Russian and Chinese malign influence actors are working smarter in the age of AI

**[Two Six Technologies](https://daily.dev/sources/twosixtech)** · 7 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments

## Summary

A research team at Two Six Technologies developed ML models to identify inauthentic pro-Russia and pro-China accounts on X, tracking behavior from 2024–2026. Key finding: these actors are using AI to improve content quality rather than increase volume. Post counts dropped by half, but image use quadrupled for pro-Russia accounts and doubled for pro-China accounts. Accounts are mimicking human behavior more convincingly — slower posting speeds, sleep-like inactivity periods, and expanded language use (pro-Russia accounts now post in a median of six languages). Despite the quality-over-quantity shift, most inauthentic accounts get minimal engagement, though ~15 pro-Russia outlier accounts with tens of thousands of followers do gain real traction. A major narrative shift was also detected: pro-Russia accounts dramatically increased anti-US and anti-Trump messaging in 2026, reversing prior pro-Trump stances, likely due to frustration over the Ukraine war. Pro-China accounts consistently pushed anti-US narratives and increasingly highlighted China's AI dominance.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://twosixtech.com/blog/more-sophistication-less-slop-russian-and-chinese-malign-influence-actors-are-working-smarter-in-the-age-of-ai>

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