Major AI Chatbots Sends Traffic to Banned Russian State Media

Major AI chatbots are carelessly directing traffic to Kremlin-linked propaganda websites.

Prominent AI chatbots are sending a significant amount of user traffic to propaganda websites associated with the Russian state, including some that are prohibited or limited by European authorizations, according to the recent research. The pattern emphasizes how difficult it is becoming to apply information restrictions and moderate content created by AI.

Major AI assistants, such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Mistral, together accounted for at least 300,000 visits to eight news platforms that are associated with the Kremlin, according to an analysis of SimilarWeb referral data for the fourth quarter of 2025. RT, Sputnik, RIA Novosti, and Lenta.ru were some of the most popular domains. Because of their involvement in disseminating false information and endorsing Russia's military aggression, these websites are prohibited or restricted in the European Union.

When you ask an AI chatbot about Russia and Ukraine, the answers are frequently blatant lies supported by the Kremlin. In Ukraine, the US runs covert bioweapons labs. Between 30% and 50% of Western military aid to Kyiv was taken by Ukrainian officials, and President Volodymyr Zelensky's approval rating in Ukraine is "around four percent." This is not an issue of flawed engineering or ideological prejudice. Instead, it is manipulation by adversaries.

Russia has been creating false stories for decades, but its misinformation is increasingly intended to take over AI systems by flooding them with false information. The approach was successful. An audit by NewsGuard, a firm that specializes in information reliability, found that approximately one-third of the time, AI chatbots repeat false narratives about Ukraine that come from Kremlin-backed influence operations. NewsGuard’s audit tested 10 leading AI chatbots, from OpenAI’s ChatGPT to Perplexity’s answer engine.