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The Influence Funnel: How AI Powers FIMI and Its Detection

Recorded lunch seminar 2 June 2026

 

Topic: The Influence Funnel: How AI Powers FIMI and Its Detection

When: 3 June, 2026 12.00 to 13.00 CET

Where: Online

Speakers: Valeriia Malchenko, senior analyst  at Osavul

Moderator: Anamaria Dutceac Segesten, European Studies, Lund University

Abstract

This seminar explores how artificial intelligence is transforming the information environment around elections, both as a source of new vulnerabilities and as a tool for democratic protection. The talk will focus on Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, or FIMI, and examine how hostile actors use coordinated narratives, automation, generative AI, inauthentic amplification, and platform-specific tactics to target electoral processes, public trust, and democratic institutions.

Drawing on Osavul’s work in AI- and OSINT-powered information threat intelligence, the seminar will discuss examples such as election-related FIMI in Europe, including Romanian election interference, automated propaganda campaigns, generative-AI-enabled manipulation, and Russian information operations affecting Ukraine and Western countries. It will also consider how AI can be used defensively: for narrative monitoring, public opinion analysis, early warning, detection of coordinated behaviour, sentiment analysis across languages and regions, and faster situational awareness for institutions and analysts.

The presentation will therefore address the dual role of AI in elections: as an accelerator of information threats, but also as part of the emerging toolkit for election protection, democratic resilience, and coordinated responses to foreign interference.

Bio: Valeriia Malchenko is a senior analyst and forward deployed engineer at Osavul, where she analyses and tracks campaigns of Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI). Her work focuses on Russia-linked information operations on social media, including operations targeting Ukraine in the context of the full-scale war and recent elections in Europe. She also brings extensive experience in OSINT investigations and journalism.

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Last updated: 4 Jun 2026