Using a fictitious San Francisco news outlet, Russian surrogates have disseminated “fabricated videos designed to sow discord and spread disinformation” about the Kamala Harris presidential campaign, Microsoft said in a statement last week.
One video, which “used an on-screen actor to fabricate false claims about Vice President Harris’s involvement in a hit-and-run accident,” was purportedly published by a San Francisco news outlet created days before the video was posted, the statement said. A spokesperson for the Harris campaign was not immediately available to comment.
The video generated millions of views, according to Microsoft, and was produced by a troll farm with ties to the Kremlin.
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Digital experts say the Russians will likely “continue to use cyber proxies and hacktivist groups to amplify their messages through media websites and social channels geared to spread divisive political content, staged videos, and AI-enhanced propaganda,” Microsoft said.
On Monday, officials from the Department of National Intelligence and the Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed that a fictitious San Francisco news outlet called KBSF-TV published a story on Sept. 2 falsely claiming that Harris was involved in a 2011 hit-and-run accident, according to the Mercury News.
Aug. 12, 2024
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