Russia steps up disinformation campaign against Kamala Harris
Russia is intensifying its disinformation activities targeting Democratic presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris. The American corporation Microsoft reports the dissemination of fake recordings aimed at discrediting Harris before the elections.
At the end of August, the group Storm-1516, associated with the Kremlin, produced two videos that have been viewed millions of times.
One of the recordings purportedly shows a group of Harris supporters attacking a person falsely presented as a participant in a rally for former U.S. President and Harris's electoral rival, Donald Trump.
In the second recording, an actor makes false insinuations, claiming that Harris caused a car accident in 2011, which resulted in a girl being paralyzed, and that Harris supposedly fled the scene.
At the same time, another Russian group, Storm-1679, also published manipulated recordings aimed at smearing Harris. This same group was previously known for spreading disinformation about the Olympic Games in Paris.
The General Manager of Microsoft's Threat Analysis Center, Clint Watts, warned all Americans.
As the (U.S. presidential) elections approach, we should expect further use by Russians of digital intermediaries and hacktivist groups to amplify political discord, fake recordings, and AI-generated propaganda on social media - he said.
Harris won the debate with Trump
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump recently held a presidential debate in Pennsylvania. According to CNN polls, the Democratic candidate emerged victorious by 63 to 37 percent.
The U.S. presidential elections will take place on November 5th.
