Russian troll farms are targeting the Harris-Walz campaign with fake videos, including one accusing Kamala Harris of a hit-and-run, says Microsoft.
Microsoft reveals Kremlin-backed disinformation campaigns aimed at discrediting Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the lead-up to the U.S. election. Symbolic imageNew York, USA - September 18, 2024:
Microsoft has issued a warning that Kremlin-affiliated Russian troll farms are launching disinformation campaigns to interfere with the upcoming U.S. presidential election. According to a new report from the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center, these troll farms are targeting the campaigns of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in an effort to discredit them.
One of the fake videos circulating online falsely accuses Harris of being involved in a 2011 hit-and-run accident that left a young girl paralyzed. Another video claims Harris supporters attacked attendees of a Trump rally. Both videos have garnered millions of views, with the hit-and-run video being released by a newly created website posing as a San Francisco-based media outlet.
A second troll farm shifted its focus from the 2024 Paris Olympics to producing content aimed at smearing Harris. One of their fake videos depicted a billboard in New York City suggesting Harris supports changing children’s gender, which gained significant traction on Telegram and X (formerly known as Twitter).
Microsoft has warned that more staged and AI-generated disinformation is expected as the election approaches. The company has already suspended over 20 accounts linked to ANO Dialog, a Russian nonprofit allegedly involved in creating fake news websites targeting American readers.
In response to these disinformation campaigns, Meta has also banned Russian state media outlets like RT for engaging in foreign interference. U.S. authorities recently indicted two RT employees for planning to pay a Tennessee company $10 million to spread propaganda videos on social media.
Russia is not the only foreign actor involved in election interference this year. Iranian hackers have also attempted spear-phishing attacks against advisers to both the Biden-Harris and Trump campaigns, aiming to sway voter sentiment. Microsoft and other tech companies continue to monitor and mitigate these threats as election day approaches.