Rubio impersonator using AI contacted foreign ministers

9/7/2025 6:32

An individual using an artificially generated voice to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio contacted three foreign ministers and two U.S. officials last month, pretending to be the top U.S. diplomat, according to a diplomatic cable seen by Reuters on Tuesday.



In mid-June, the person contacted the ministers, a U.S. governor and a member of Congress via the Signal messaging app and left voicemails for at least two of them, the cable said. In one instance, a text message was sent to invite the targeted person to communicate on Signal.



"The actor likely aimed to manipulate targeted individuals using AI-generated text and voice messages with the goal of gaining access to information or accounts," the cable said.



The Washington Post first reported the attempt. The episode comes weeks after the administration faced a crisis when President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Mike Waltz created a group chat on Signal where a journalist was accidentally added. Information about military strikes on Yemen

was subsequently shared on the chat.