Utilizing a fictitious San Francisco information outlet, Russian surrogates have disseminated “fabricated movies designed to sow discord and unfold disinformation” in regards to the Kamala Harris presidential marketing campaign, Microsoft stated in a press release final week.
One video, which “used an on-screen actor to manufacture false claims about Vice President Harris’s involvement in a hit-and-run accident,” was purportedly revealed by a San Francisco information outlet created days earlier than the video was posted, the assertion stated. A spokesperson for the Harris marketing campaign was not instantly accessible to remark.
The video generated hundreds of thousands of views, in line with Microsoft, and was produced by a troll farm with ties to the Kremlin.
Digital specialists say the Russians will probably “proceed to make use of cyber proxies and hacktivist teams to amplify their messages by way of media web sites and social channels geared to unfold divisive political content material, staged movies, and AI-enhanced propaganda,” Microsoft stated.
On Monday, officers from the Division of Nationwide Intelligence and the Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed {that a} fictitious San Francisco information outlet known as KBSF-TV revealed a narrative on Sept. 2 falsely claiming that Harris was concerned in a 2011 hit-and-run accident, in line with the Mercury Information.
The video claimed {that a} girl was paralyzed after the incident. There was no proof to recommend that any of the occasions within the video ever occurred, officers stated.
Of the nations tracked by the Division of Nationwide Intelligence, Russia has generated essentially the most AI content material across the upcoming election, the DNI stated in a press release.
The Russian affect actors have been accountable for staging the hit-and-run video, the DNI stated, and likewise had labored in manipulating textual content, pictures and audio elsewhere.
On-line registration data point out that the KBSF-TV web site was created in late August and registered in Reykjavik, Iceland.
The web site was down as of Tuesday.
The FBI didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.