A documentary purports to expose the corruption within the Olympic Committee and is fronted by movie star Tom Cruise.
The viewer is greeted by the classic intro from Netflix and a welcome from the movie star.
But a report from Microsoft now shows that the documentary is fake, Tom Cruise is AI-generated and the whole thing a Russian influence operation.
According to Microsoft’s intelligence department, which also assesses threats, the documentary was released by the disinformation network Storm-1679 on the Telegram platform.
The film gives the appearance of being part of Netflix’s offering by opening with the classic intro from the streaming giant. Then an AI-generated Tom Cruise talks about his passion for sports while quick clips from his film career fly by.
“In this series you will see how they work within the global sports industry, especially within the International Olympic Committee, which is slowly and painfully destroying the Olympic sport that has existed for thousands of years,” says the fake and AI-embarrassed Tom Cruise voice.
In an intelligence report from Microsoft it is established that the documentary is part of Russian disinformation and that Tom Cruise did not participate.
“The analysis confirms that the fake documentary used AI-generated audio reminiscent of Cruise to suggest his participation,” the report states.
Spreading fake news about terrorist threats
In addition to portraying the Olympic management as corrupt in the documentary, a narrative from the same Russian disinformation network is also spread that the games will be affected by acts of violence and terrorism.
Fake news is being spread that a quarter of all tickets for the games have been returned – for fear of terror. People in France are also said to have insured their homes against future terrorist attacks.
The American CIA and their French colleagues are said to have advised people against going to Paris and the Olympics, due to the risk of terrorist attacks, claims that are false.
Draws parallels to Munich 1972
According to Microsoft, the disinformation network Storm-1679 has also shared images referencing the 1972 Munich Olympics, when participants from the Israeli team were murdered. The images depict graffiti, but are judged to be digitally produced and not physically exist.
“Storm-1679 has tried to use the conflict between Israel and Hamas to fabricate threats to the games”, writes Microsoft.
The images show a weapon being handed over from one hand to another. Under the hands are the emblems from the 1972 and 2024 Olympics.
Russian and Belarusian competitors are not allowed to participate under their country’s flag in this year’s Olympics in Paris. Instead, they will be allowed to compete as neutrals.