A video of a woman claiming that Kamala Harris left her paralyzed in a hit-and-run case 13 years ago is the work of Russian propaganda group in a bid to influence the public opinion as the US presidential approaches, Microsoft said on Wednesday.
“As the election approaches, people get more heated,” Clint Watts, general manager of the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center said.
“People tend to take in information from sources they don’t really know or wouldn’t even know to evaluate,” Watts added.
The video, which was posted on social media on September 2, came from a newly minted San Francisco based news channel KBSF-TV. The news site featured plagiarized content from legitimate news sources ceased to exist later.
The findings by the tech giant indicate that despite significant shifts in the political landscape, organizations tied to America’s foreign adversaries are intensifying their efforts to influence US political opinion as the election approaches, often employing manipulative tactics.
Additionally, they shed light on how Russia’s campaign against pro-Ukrainian policies in the US is escalating into increased attacks on the Democratic presidential ticket.
“Russian influence operations initially struggled to pivot operations aimed at the Democratic campaign following President Biden’s departure from the US 2024 presidential race,” a Microsoft blog said.
“In late August, however, elements of prolific Russian actor Storm-1516 began producing content implicating Vice President Harris and Governor Walz in outlandish fake conspiracy theories,” it added.
Earlier this month, the US Justice Department brought money-laundering charges against two employees of the Russian state media network RT, alleging they were involved in a scheme to hire an American firm to create online content aimed at influencing the election.
“As the election approaches, people get more heated,” Clint Watts, general manager of the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center said.
“People tend to take in information from sources they don’t really know or wouldn’t even know to evaluate,” Watts added.
The video, which was posted on social media on September 2, came from a newly minted San Francisco based news channel KBSF-TV. The news site featured plagiarized content from legitimate news sources ceased to exist later.
The findings by the tech giant indicate that despite significant shifts in the political landscape, organizations tied to America’s foreign adversaries are intensifying their efforts to influence US political opinion as the election approaches, often employing manipulative tactics.
Additionally, they shed light on how Russia’s campaign against pro-Ukrainian policies in the US is escalating into increased attacks on the Democratic presidential ticket.
“Russian influence operations initially struggled to pivot operations aimed at the Democratic campaign following President Biden’s departure from the US 2024 presidential race,” a Microsoft blog said.
“In late August, however, elements of prolific Russian actor Storm-1516 began producing content implicating Vice President Harris and Governor Walz in outlandish fake conspiracy theories,” it added.
Earlier this month, the US Justice Department brought money-laundering charges against two employees of the Russian state media network RT, alleging they were involved in a scheme to hire an American firm to create online content aimed at influencing the election.