Forrester Names Blackbird.AI among Notable Providers in External Threat Intelligence

Narrative attacks and manipulation spread like wildfire across the social media ecosystem. A new report from Forrester paints a stark picture of the role of AI in amplifying harmful narratives, deepfakes, and synthetic media that wreak havoc on businesses, governments, organizations, and individuals.

According to the Forrester report The External Threat Intelligence Service Providers Landscape, Q1 2025, “AI is increasingly used as a tool for enhancing threat intelligence but is also a source of new threats. AI-generated attacks will become more complex and lower the barrier for new threat actors. Convincing deepfakes and complex narrative attacks are harbingers of more sophisticated threats, driving the need to fight fire with fire. Defensively, AI-infused threat intelligence will be able to handle expanding data volumes, identify previously unknown relationships, extract finer contextual data points, and provide deeper multisource data infusion. Expect more automation with predictive analytics and targeted recommendations.”

While AI enhances cyber defense capabilities—such as handling vast data volumes, identifying complex relationships, and delivering predictive analytics—it also lowers the barrier for malicious actors to execute sophisticated attacks. Convincing deepfakes, fabricated narratives, and AI-generated media have already demonstrated their power to undermine trust and destabilize markets.

“We believe Blackbird.AI’s recognition in The Forrester External Threat Intelligence Service Providers Landscape, Q1 2025 Report demonstrates our leadership in protecting organizations from harmful narrative attacks that cause massive financial and reputational harm,” said Wasim Khaled, CEO and Co-founder of Blackbird.AI. “Harmful narrative attacks that manipulate public perception destabilize stock prices and erode stakeholder trust within minutes. Synthetic media, deepfakes, and AI-generated narratives are being used to fabricate press releases, forge executive communications across text and video conferences, or stage false crises, leaving organizations with a significant blind spot and scrambling to respond in real-time.”

What Are Narrative Attacks

Narrative attacks are deliberate efforts to manipulate public perception, influence behavior, and destabilize organizations or societies by spreading false or misleading information. These attacks use tools like deepfakes, synthetic media manipulation, and bot-driven amplification to create and propagate harmful narratives. They can target a variety of vulnerabilities, from public trust in institutions to brand reputation and market stability.

Unlike traditional cyberattacks that exploit technical systems, narrative attacks exploit information ecosystems and human psychology. They aim to distort reality, incite conflict, or undermine credibility, often in a coordinated and strategic manner. Examples include fabricated press releases impacting stock prices, synthetic videos sowing distrust in public figures, or false narratives eroding consumer confidence in brands.

Addressing Real-World Impacts: Narrative Attacks in Action

The real-world consequences of narrative attacks are far-reaching, affecting industries, governments, and individuals. Synthetic media and disinformation campaigns have been used to:

• Manipulate financial markets: Fabricated press releases or social media posts can trigger massive sell-offs or influence stock prices.
• Executive targeting and precision canceling: narrative manipulation campaigns targeting executives, influencers, and decision-makers can damage an individual’s credibility and reputation.
• Damage brand reputation: False narratives about products, executives, or business practices can quickly spiral into PR crises.

The Way Forward – Why This Matters for Organizations

For Blackbird.AI, its inclusion in Forrester’s Threat Intelligence Landscape report signals a broader shift in how organizations need to think about threat intelligence. Traditional cyber defense systems, while still important, are no longer sufficient in a world where information and perception are weaponized.

Organizations should consider:

• The speed at which narrative attacks can spread.
• The financial impact of reputational damage.
• The role of AI in both creating and detecting threats.
• The importance of proactive narrative intelligence.

Since 2017, Blackbird.AI has pioneered the development of an advanced AI-powered Narrative Intelligence Platform. This technology helps organizations identify and analyze harmful narratives that affect their executives, brand, and industry. The platform reveals the sources of these narratives, visualizes how they spread through networks, detects artificial amplification through bot activity, and maps the communities that share and amplify them. Banking institutions, consumer brands, and national security organizations use these insights to make strategic decisions that protect their reputation and reduce organizational risk.

In 2025, the threat landscape will become even more complex. AI-generated content will become even more sophisticated. Organizations that invest in narrative intelligence capabilities now will be better positioned to protect themselves from these emerging threats.

Get the complimentary report here.

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