Tactics and tools How private firms sell disinformation to authoritarian regimes
In the world of propaganda, a quiet revolution has taken place: information operations that were once the exclusive domain of authoritarian governments and intelligence services are now increasingly outsourced to private firms. As noted by the fact-checking project EUvsDisinfo, disinformation and Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) have become a global business, providing authoritarian regimes with strategic reach and “plausible deniability”.
For decades, information operations were tightly controlled by states. The Soviet Union, for example, refined the practice of “disinformation”, while Russia institutionalized it through modern digital operations such as the Internet Research Agency (IRA).
Over the past decade, however, this model has become commercialized. Disinformation has evolved into a profitable service offered by private companies with backgrounds in intelligence, military affairs, or marketing. These firms sell comprehensive FIMI campaign packages that include:
- Fake social media campaigns;
- Cyberattacks and data leaks;
- “Narrative management” services designed to spread manipulated content in democratic countries.
Outsourcing as a shield for authoritarian regimes
The use of non-state specialists provides authoritarian governments with two key advantages: efficiency and deniability. They increasingly outsource information operations to private intermediaries, shielding themselves from diplomatic and legal consequences.
This model allows manipulators to experiment with high-risk tactics – such as AI-generated content, hacking, or deepfakes – that would be politically or diplomatically explosive if carried out directly by state institutions.
“It is the information equivalent of using mercenaries: the client enjoys the benefits without bearing responsibility”, EUvsDisinfo writes.
Moreover, outsourcing enables “information laundering” – the concealment of the true origin of disinformation by routing it through private firms, fake accounts, and proxy media outlets.
Artificial intelligence: the new force multiplier of propaganda
The old model of “troll farms” – hundreds of young employees manually posting content online – is being replaced by AI-driven automation. Systems such as AIMS, developed by the firm “Team Jorge”, can manage thousands of fake accounts and generate multilingual content tailored to target audiences in real time.
What once required an entire building and hundreds of employees in Saint Petersburg can now be accomplished with a laptop.
The asymmetry of information warfare
The emergence of mercenary firms specializing in influence operations has created an asymmetric imbalance. Autocracies, protected by censorship and control, gain maximum reach with minimal risk. Democracies, constrained by transparency and the rule of law, face maximum vulnerability while having more limited means of defense.
EUvsDisinfo warns that the marketisation of disinformation is creating a global “grey zone” in which truth becomes optional and accountability elusive. As AI tools become cheaper and more powerful, these operations are likely to grow in both scale and sophistication.