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In the final week of a contentious Senate race in Ohio, Democrat Sherrod Brown became the subject of what looked like a television news report purporting to break news about sexual assault allegations.

Designed to resemble an on-air report by CBS affiliate WOIO in Cleveland, a video that circulated on X this week claimed Brown, who served in the Senate from 2007 to 2025, had been accused of assaulting four former female staffers.

But disinformation researchers say the TV report was fabricated. And, they say, the false allegations lobbed against Brown are part of a broader Russian propaganda campaign to sow chaos ahead of Election Day. The campaign centers on key Senate races that could decide which party gains majority control of Congress.

In fact, the posts follow a documented formula — one that’s already been used this year to disrupt Democrats’ electoral odds in key Senate races.

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Just last week, social media posts depicted a young man alleging he was sexually abused by James Talarico, the Democratic candidate in a Senate race that has become a lightning rod for right-wing influence operations.

These posts aren’t just about harming a candidate’s election prospects, said Darren Linvill, a Clemson University professor and founder of its Media Forensics Hub. They’re part of a “broader attack on Western liberal democracy.”

“They’re an attempt to make...

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