Microsoft revealed on Tuesday that Russian operatives have escalated their online attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign by spreading videos promoting false conspiracy theories to sow racial and political discord in the US.
One of the fabricated videos falsely depicted Harris supporters assaulting an attendee at a Donald Trump rally, while another baseless claim suggested that Harris was responsible for paralyzing a young girl in a hit-and-run incident in 2011. These videos, viewed by millions, were disseminated through a fake San Francisco media website created by Russian operatives, as reported by Microsoft researchers.
Despite these alarming findings, the videos were still accessible on a certain platform as of Tuesday afternoon, with one video amassing 1.5 million views on its own. The social media platform in question has been approached for comment on this matter.
This recent report underscores the increasing efforts of Kremlin-linked trolls and digital operatives to undermine Harris' campaign just weeks before the presidential election. US intelligence agencies had previously warned in July about Russia's plans to use social media covertly to influence public opinion and destabilize support for Ukraine in key swing states.
According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Russia's interference tactics in the current election cycle mirror those employed in 2016 and 2020, targeting Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, respectively.
Microsoft noted a strategic shift by Russian actors towards attacking the Harris-Walz campaign following Biden's withdrawal from the race in July. The emergence of videos targeting Harris and her supporters in late August and early September reflects a calculated move to exploit perceived vulnerabilities in the new candidates, as stated by Clint Watts, the general manager of the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center.
Amidst these revelations, the US government has taken steps to counter Russian disinformation campaigns aimed at American voters in the lead-up to the election. The State Department declassified intelligence last week linking Russian state-run media outlet RT to intelligence operations targeting elections worldwide.
Furthermore, Meta, a US social media giant, announced a ban on RT due to its foreign interference activities. US intelligence officials have also identified Iran as another foreign power actively attempting to influence the US presidential campaign, with Tehran engaging in covert social media activities to undermine Trump's candidacy.
Additionally, Iranian government-backed hackers reportedly targeted the Trump campaign by leaking internal documents to US media outlets, according to a joint statement from the FBI and other agencies.
