UAE-directed campaign used Claude to target Muslim Brotherhood and Sudan

UAE campaign used AI Claude to target Muslim Brotherhood and Sudan Submitted by MEE staff on Fri, 09/11/2026 - 15:15 Anthropic says UAE-directed actor used its AI assistant to build a network of about 300 inauthentic influencer accounts Claude is an AI developed by American software company Anthropic (Joel Saget/AFP) Off Anthropic detected and disrupted a UAE-directed influence operation targeting the Muslim Brotherhood and the war in Sudan, the artificial intelligence (AI) company said in its September intelligence threat report. The US corporation said that a “single actor” used its AI assistant, Claude, to conduct a “coordinated transatlantic and regional operation to dismantle the Muslim Brotherhood globally”. This single actor also used the AI tool to build a campaign to influence perceptions of the United Arab Emirates' involvement in the war in Sudan, where Abu Dhabi backs the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group widely accused of committing genocide in Darfur.

Part of this campaign involved disrupting efforts at the United Nations to seek accountability for Emirati involvement in Sudan. The UAE continues to deny its involvement in the war, despite mounting evidence reported on by Middle East Eye, human rights organisations and the UN itself. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The UAE-directed campaign built a network of approximately 300 “inauthentic influencer social media accounts” to try and shape discourse around the Muslim Brotherhood, the war in Sudan and the UN, Anthropic said.

The single actor used Claude to create a “front NGO that copied a real Swiss organisation’s identity and published state-authored human rights reports under it”, as well as ghost writing official testimonies with the “goal of having them delivered by two people at the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council”. “The content was engineered with specific restrictions ensuring that neither speech mentioned the UAE,” Anthropic said in its report. The influence operation used Claude to research and profile 18 members of the European parliament and prominent journalists.

“They built out detailed personal files on these lawmakers and reporters,” according to the report. “They compiled counter-accountability dossiers on UN Special Rapporteurs who had criticized the conduct of the UAE in Sudan,” the AI company said of the Emirati-directed actor. UAE-directed campaign used Claude to target Muslim Brotherhood and Sudan Anthropic detected and disrupted a UAE-directed influence operation targeting the Muslim Brotherhood, the artificial intelligence (AI) company said in its September intelligence threat report.

The company said that a “single actor” used Anthropic’s AI assistant, Claude, to conduct a “coordinated transatlantic and regional operation to dismantle the Muslim Brotherhood globally.” The campaign built a network of approximately 300 “inauthentic influencer social media accounts” to try and shape discourse around the Muslim Brotherhood, the war in Sudan – where the UAE backs the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces – and the United Nations, which was trying to hold Abu Dhabi to account for its role in the war. The actor used Claude to create a “front NGO that coped a real Swiss organisation’s identity and published state-authored human rights reports under it,” Anthropic said. They also ghost wrote official testimonies with the “goal of having them delivered by two people at the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council”.

The operation used Claude to research and profile 18 members of the European parliament and prominent journalists. Anthropic said that though the operation was built not to be traced, its investigation “linked it with high confidence to UAE government officials”. Senior Emirati officials were named as intended recipients of the work.