When AI answers link to Kremlin-aligned sources

Dosimeter reports that 125 of 1,000 tested answers cited Kremlin-aligned sources. According to the study, 85% of these cases lacked a warning about their provenance. Concrete examples and screenshots show these references, sometimes alongside established news outlets. [1]

Named sources include the Pravda network, Russia Today (RT), Sputnik, TASS and Izvestia. Dosimeter documents Perplexity citing the Pravda network and Claude citing RT through its mirror service. Its Meta AI examples include Izvestia. These observations apply to the tested sample. [1]

On October 27–28, 2026, ten selected questions were each submitted ten times to ten assistant services. English-language queries used fresh chats and a US location where possible. An answer counted if a listed source appeared, including when the answer rejected the claim. The dataset includes answers, source lists and a recounting script. It also documents additions to the source lists after their advance sealing. [3]

The questions deliberately repeated previously circulated false claims. The result is therefore neither a general error rate for political AI answers nor evidence of actual influence on voters. [1]

The full report linked from the article is included as a PDF in the references. [2]

Read as an indication, this suggests that citations deserve as much attention as answer text. A seemingly sound fact-check can give questionable publishers visibility. For public information, it therefore matters whether AI systems clearly explain the provenance and role of their evidence.