Microsoft Warns of Russian Disinformation Campaign Targeting Kamala Harris

Russia-linked actors are seeding disinformation about Harris as election nears, Microsoft says

NEW YORK (AP) -- The video was seen millions of times across social media but some viewers were suspicious: It featured a young Black woman who claimed Vice President Kamala Harris left her paralyzed in a hit-and-run accident in San Francisco 13 years ago. In an emotional retelling from a wheelchair, the alleged victim said she "cannot remain silent anymore" and lamented that her childhood had "ended too soon." Immediately after the video was posted on Sept. 2, social media users pointed out reasons to be wary. The purported news channel it came from, San Francisco's KBSF-TV, didn't exist. A website for the channel set up just a week earlier contained plagiarized articles from real news outlets. The woman's X-ray images shown in the video were taken from online medical journals. And the video and the text story on the website spelled the alleged victim's name differently. The caution was warranted, according to a new Microsoft threat intelligence report, which confirms the fabricated tale was disinformation from a Russia-linked troll farm. The tech giant's report released Tuesday details how Kremlin-aligned actors that at first struggled to adapt to President Joe Biden dropping out of the race have now gone full throttle in their covert influence efforts against Harris and Democrats. It also explains how Russian intelligence actors are collaborating with pro-Russian cyber "hacktivists" to boost allegedly hacked-and-leaked materials, a strategy the company notes could be weaponized to undermine U.S. confidence in November's election outcome. The findings reveal how even through dramatic changes in the political landscape, groups linked to America's foreign adversaries have redoubled their commitment to sway U.S. political opinion as the election nears, sometimes through deeply manipulative means. They also provide further insight into how Russia's efforts to fight pro-Ukrainian policy in the U.S. are translating into escalating attacks on the Democratic presidential ticket. The report builds on previous concerns the U.S. has had about Russian interference in the upcoming election. Earlier this month, the Biden administration seized Kremlin-run websites and charged two Russian state media employees in an alleged scheme to secretly fund and influence a network of right-wing influencers. Russia-linked actors have spent several months seeking to manipulate American perspectives with covert postings, but until this point, their efforts saw little traction. Notably, some of the recent examples cited in the Microsoft report received significant social media engagement from unwitting Americans who shared the fake stories with outrage. "As the election approaches, people get more heated," Clint Watts, general manager of the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center said in an interview. "People tend to take in information from sources they don't really know or wouldn't even know to evaluate." Microsoft explained that the video blaming Harris for a fake hit-and-run incident came from a Russian-aligned influence network it calls Storm-1516, which other researchers refer to as CopyCop. The video, whose main character is played by an actor, is typical of the group's efforts to react to current events with authentic-seeming "whistleblower" accounts that may seem like juicy unreported news to U.S. voters, the company said. The report revealed a second video disseminated by the group, which purported to show two Black men beating up a bloodied white woman at a rally for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. The video racked up thousands of shares on the social platform X and elicited comments like, "This is the kind of stuff to start civil wars." Microsoft's report also pointed to another Russian influence actor it calls Storm-1679 that has recently pivoted from posting about the French election and the Paris Olympics to posting about Harris. Earlier this month, the group posted a manipulated video depicting a Times Square billboard that linked Harris to gender-affirming surgeries. The content highlighted in the report doesn't appear to use generative artificial intelligence tools. It instead uses actors and more old-school editing techniques. Watts said Microsoft has been tracking the use of AI by nation states for more than a year and while foreign actors tried AI initially, many have gone back to basics as they've realized AI was "probably more time-consuming and not more effective." Asked about Russia's motivation, Watts said the Russia-aligned groups Microsoft tracks may not necessarily support particular candidates, but they are motivated to undermine anyone who "is supporting Ukraine in their policy." Harris has vowed to continue supporting America's ally Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion if elected president. Trump has demurred when asked about whether he wants Ukraine to win the war, saying in the recent presidential debate, " I want the war to stop." At a forum in early September, Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to suggest jokingly that he would support Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming U.S. election. Intelligence officials have said Moscow prefers Trump. The Harris campaign declined to comment. The Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. Earlier this summer, Microsoft found that Iranian groups have also been laying the groundwork to stoke division in the election by creating fake news sites, impersonating activists and targeting a presidential campaign with an email phishing attack. U.S. intelligence officials are preparing criminal charges in connection with that attack, which targeted the Trump campaign, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Microsoft's new report also touches on how a Chinese-linked influence actor has used short-form video to criticize Biden and Harris and to create anti-Trump content, suggesting it doesn't appear interested in supporting a particular candidate. Instead, the company said, the China-aligned group's apparent goal is to "seed doubt and confusion among American voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election." The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP's democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Russia-linked actors are seeding disinformation about Harris as election nears, Microsoft says

NEW YORK (AP) -- The video was seen millions of times across social media but some viewers were suspicious: It featured a young Black woman who claimed Vice President Kamala Harris left her paralyzed in a hit-and-run accident in San Francisco 13 years ago. In an emotional retelling from a wheelchair, the alleged victim said she "cannot remain silent anymore" and lamented that her childhood had "ended too soon." Immediately after the video was posted on Sept. 2, social media users pointed out reasons to be wary. The purported news channel it came from, San Francisco's KBSF-TV, didn't exist. A website for the channel set up just a week earlier contained plagiarized articles from real news outlets. The woman's X-ray images shown in the video were taken from online medical journals. And the video and the text story on the website spelled the alleged victim's name differently. The caution was warranted, according to a new Microsoft threat intelligence report, which confirms the fabricated tale was disinformation from a Russia-linked troll farm. The tech giant's report released Tuesday details how Kremlin-aligned actors that at first struggled to adapt to President Joe Biden dropping out of the race have now gone full throttle in their covert influence efforts against Harris and Democrats. It also explains how Russian intelligence actors are collaborating with pro-Russian cyber "hacktivists" to boost allegedly hacked-and-leaked materials, a strategy the company notes could be weaponized to undermine U.S. confidence in November's election outcome. The findings reveal how even through dramatic changes in the political landscape, groups linked to America's foreign adversaries have redoubled their commitment to sway U.S. political opinion as the election nears, sometimes through deeply manipulative means. They also provide further insight into how Russia's efforts to fight pro-Ukrainian policy in the U.S. are translating into escalating attacks on the Democratic presidential ticket. The report builds on previous concerns the U.S. has had about Russian interference in the upcoming election. Earlier this month, the Biden administration seized Kremlin-run websites and charged two Russian state media employees in an alleged scheme to secretly fund and influence a network of right-wing influencers. Russia-linked actors have spent several months seeking to manipulate American perspectives with covert postings, but until this point, their efforts saw little traction. Notably, some of the recent examples cited in the Microsoft report received significant social media engagement from unwitting Americans who shared the fake stories with outrage. "As the election approaches, people get more heated," Clint Watts, general manager of the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center said in an interview. "People tend to take in information from sources they don't really know or wouldn't even know to evaluate." Microsoft explained that the video blaming Harris for a fake hit-and-run incident came from a Russian-aligned influence network it calls Storm-1516, which other researchers refer to as CopyCop. The video, whose main character is played by an actor, is typical of the group's efforts to react to current events with authentic-seeming "whistleblower" accounts that may seem like juicy unreported news to U.S. voters, the company said. The report revealed a second video disseminated by the group, which purported to show two Black men beating up a bloodied white woman at a rally for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. The video racked up thousands of shares on the social platform X and elicited comments like, "This is the kind of stuff to start civil wars." Microsoft's report also pointed to another Russian influence actor it calls Storm-1679 that has recently pivoted from posting about the French election and the Paris Olympics to posting about Harris. Earlier this month, the group posted a manipulated video depicting a Times Square billboard that linked Harris to gender-affirming surgeries. The content highlighted in the report doesn't appear to use generative artificial intelligence tools. It instead uses actors and more old-school editing techniques. Watts said Microsoft has been tracking the use of AI by nation states for more than a year and while foreign actors tried AI initially, many have gone back to basics as they've realized AI was "probably more time-consuming and not more effective." Asked about Russia's motivation, Watts said the Russia-aligned groups Microsoft tracks may not necessarily support particular candidates, but they are motivated to undermine anyone who "is supporting Ukraine in their policy." Harris has vowed to continue supporting America's ally Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion if elected president. Trump has demurred when asked about whether he wants Ukraine to win the war, saying in the recent presidential debate, " I want the war to stop." At a forum in early September, Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to suggest jokingly that he would support Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming U.S. election. Intelligence officials have said Moscow prefers Trump. The Harris campaign declined to comment. The Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. Earlier this summer, Microsoft found that Iranian groups have also been laying the groundwork to stoke division in the election by creating fake news sites, impersonating activists and targeting a presidential campaign with an email phishing attack. U.S. intelligence officials are preparing criminal charges in connection with that attack, which targeted the Trump campaign, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Microsoft's new report also touches on how a Chinese-linked influence actor has used short-form video to criticize Biden and Harris and to create anti-Trump content, suggesting it doesn't appear interested in supporting a particular candidate. Instead, the company said, the China-aligned group's apparent goal is to "seed doubt and confusion among American voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election." ___ The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP's democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Russia-linked actors are seeding disinformation about Harris as election nears, Microsoft says

NEW YORK -- The video was seen millions of times across social media but some viewers were suspicious: It featured a young Black woman who claimed Vice President Kamala Harris left her paralyzed in a hit-and-run accident in San Francisco 13 years ago. In an emotional retelling from a wheelchair, the alleged victim said she "cannot remain silent anymore" and lamented that her childhood had "ended too soon." Immediately after the video was posted on Sept. 2, social media users pointed out reasons to be wary. The purported news channel it came from, San Francisco's KBSF-TV, didn't exist. A website for the channel set up just a week earlier contained plagiarized articles from real news outlets. The woman's X-ray images shown in the video were taken from online medical journals. And the video and the text story on the website spelled the alleged victim's name differently. The caution was warranted, according to a new Microsoft threat intelligence report, which confirms the fabricated tale was disinformation from a Russia-linked troll farm. The tech giant's report released Tuesday details how Kremlin-aligned actors that at first struggled to adapt to President Joe Biden dropping out of the race have now gone full throttle in their covert influence efforts against Harris and Democrats. It also explains how Russian intelligence actors are collaborating with pro-Russian cyber "hacktivists" to boost allegedly hacked-and-leaked materials, a strategy the company notes could be weaponized to undermine U.S. confidence in November's election outcome. The findings reveal how even through dramatic changes in the political landscape, groups linked to America's foreign adversaries have redoubled their commitment to sway U.S. political opinion as the election nears, sometimes through deeply manipulative means. They also provide further insight into how Russia's efforts to fight pro-Ukrainian policy in the U.S. are translating into escalating attacks on the Democratic presidential ticket. The report builds on previous concerns the U.S. has had about Russian interference in the upcoming election. Earlier this month, the Biden administration seized Kremlin-run websites and charged two Russian state media employees in an alleged scheme to secretly fund and influence a network of right-wing influencers. Russia-linked actors have spent several months seeking to manipulate American perspectives with covert postings, but until this point, their efforts saw little traction. Notably, some of the recent examples cited in the Microsoft report received significant social media engagement from unwitting Americans who shared the fake stories with outrage. "As the election approaches, people get more heated," Clint Watts, general manager of the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center said in an interview. "People tend to take in information from sources they don't really know or wouldn't even know to evaluate." Microsoft explained that the video blaming Harris for a fake hit-and-run incident came from a Russian-aligned influence network it calls Storm-1516, which other researchers refer to as CopyCop. The video, whose main character is played by an actor, is typical of the group's efforts to react to current events with authentic-seeming "whistleblower" accounts that may seem like juicy unreported news to U.S. voters, the company said. The report revealed a second video disseminated by the group, which purported to show two Black men beating up a bloodied white woman at a rally for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. The video racked up thousands of shares on the social platform X and elicited comments like, "This is the kind of stuff to start civil wars." Microsoft's report also pointed to another Russian influence actor it calls Storm-1679 that has recently pivoted from posting about the French election and the Paris Olympics to posting about Harris. Earlier this month, the group posted a manipulated video depicting a Times Square billboard that linked Harris to gender-affirming surgeries. The content highlighted in the report doesn't appear to use generative artificial intelligence tools. It instead uses actors and more old-school editing techniques. Watts said Microsoft has been tracking the use of AI by nation states for more than a year and while foreign actors tried AI initially, many have gone back to basics as they've realized AI was "probably more time-consuming and not more effective." Asked about Russia's motivation, Watts said the Russia-aligned groups Microsoft tracks may not necessarily support particular candidates, but they are motivated to undermine anyone who "is supporting Ukraine in their policy." Harris has vowed to continue supporting America's ally Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion if elected president. Trump has demurred when asked about whether he wants Ukraine to win the war, saying in the recent presidential debate, " I want the war to stop." At a forum in early September, Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to suggest jokingly that he would support Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming U.S. election. Intelligence officials have said Moscow prefers Trump. The Harris campaign declined to comment. The Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. Earlier this summer, Microsoft found that Iranian groups have also been laying the groundwork to stoke division in the election by creating fake news sites, impersonating activists and targeting a presidential campaign with an email phishing attack. U.S. intelligence officials are preparing criminal charges in connection with that attack, which targeted the Trump campaign, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Microsoft's new report also touches on how a Chinese-linked influence actor has used short-form video to criticize Biden and Harris and to create anti-Trump content, suggesting it doesn't appear interested in supporting a particular candidate. Instead, the company said, the China-aligned group's apparent goal is to "seed doubt and confusion among American voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election." ___ The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP's democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Russia-Linked Actors Are Seeding Disinformation About Harris as Election Nears, Microsoft Says

NEW YORK (AP) -- The video was seen millions of times across social media but some viewers were suspicious: It featured a young Black woman who claimed Vice President Kamala Harris left her paralyzed in a hit-and-run accident in San Francisco 13 years ago. In an emotional retelling from a wheelchair, the alleged victim said she "cannot remain silent anymore" and lamented that her childhood had "ended too soon." Immediately after the video was posted on Sept. 2, social media users pointed out reasons to be wary. The purported news channel it came from, San Francisco's KBSF-TV, didn't exist. A website for the channel set up just a week earlier contained plagiarized articles from real news outlets. The woman's X-ray images shown in the video were taken from online medical journals. And the video and the text story on the website spelled the alleged victim's name differently. The caution was warranted, according to a new Microsoft threat intelligence report, which confirms the fabricated tale was disinformation from a Russia-linked troll farm. The tech giant's report released Tuesday details how Kremlin-aligned actors that at first struggled to adapt to President Joe Biden dropping out of the race have now gone full throttle in their covert influence efforts against Harris and Democrats. It also explains how Russian intelligence actors are collaborating with pro-Russian cyber "hacktivists" to boost allegedly hacked-and-leaked materials, a strategy the company notes could be weaponized to undermine U.S. confidence in November's election outcome. The findings reveal how even through dramatic changes in the political landscape, groups linked to America's foreign adversaries have redoubled their commitment to sway U.S. political opinion as the election nears, sometimes through deeply manipulative means. They also provide further insight into how Russia's efforts to fight pro-Ukrainian policy in the U.S. are translating into escalating attacks on the Democratic presidential ticket. The report builds on previous concerns the U.S. has had about Russian interference in the upcoming election. Earlier this month, the Biden administration seized Kremlin-run websites and charged two Russian state media employees in an alleged scheme to secretly fund and influence a network of right-wing influencers. Russia-linked actors have spent several months seeking to manipulate American perspectives with covert postings, but until this point, their efforts saw little traction. Notably, some of the recent examples cited in the Microsoft report received significant social media engagement from unwitting Americans who shared the fake stories with outrage. "As the election approaches, people get more heated," Clint Watts, general manager of the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center said in an interview. "People tend to take in information from sources they don't really know or wouldn't even know to evaluate." Microsoft explained that the video blaming Harris for a fake hit-and-run incident came from a Russian-aligned influence network it calls Storm-1516, which other researchers refer to as CopyCop. The video, whose main character is played by an actor, is typical of the group's efforts to react to current events with authentic-seeming "whistleblower" accounts that may seem like juicy unreported news to U.S. voters, the company said. The report revealed a second video disseminated by the group, which purported to show two Black men beating up a bloodied white woman at a rally for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. The video racked up thousands of shares on the social platform X and elicited comments like, "This is the kind of stuff to start civil wars." Microsoft's report also pointed to another Russian influence actor it calls Storm-1679 that has recently pivoted from posting about the French election and the Paris Olympics to posting about Harris. Earlier this month, the group posted a manipulated video depicting a Times Square billboard that linked Harris to gender-affirming surgeries. The content highlighted in the report doesn't appear to use generative artificial intelligence tools. It instead uses actors and more old-school editing techniques. Watts said Microsoft has been tracking the use of AI by nation states for more than a year and while foreign actors tried AI initially, many have gone back to basics as they've realized AI was "probably more time-consuming and not more effective." Asked about Russia's motivation, Watts said the Russia-aligned groups Microsoft tracks may not necessarily support particular candidates, but they are motivated to undermine anyone who "is supporting Ukraine in their policy." Harris has vowed to continue supporting America's ally Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion if elected president. Trump has demurred when asked about whether he wants Ukraine to win the war, saying in the recent presidential debate, " I want the war to stop." At a forum in early September, Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to suggest jokingly that he would support Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming U.S. election. Intelligence officials have said Moscow prefers Trump. The Harris campaign declined to comment. The Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. Earlier this summer, Microsoft found that Iranian groups have also been laying the groundwork to stoke division in the election by creating fake news sites, impersonating activists and targeting a presidential campaign with an email phishing attack. U.S. intelligence officials are preparing criminal charges in connection with that attack, which targeted the Trump campaign, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Microsoft's new report also touches on how a Chinese-linked influence actor has used short-form video to criticize Biden and Harris and to create anti-Trump content, suggesting it doesn't appear interested in supporting a particular candidate. Instead, the company said, the China-aligned group's apparent goal is to "seed doubt and confusion among American voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election." ___ The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP's democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Fake Kamala Harris hit-and-run video traced to Russian troll farm

The video was seen millions of times across social media but some viewers were suspicious: It featured a young Black woman who claimed Vice President Kamala Harris left her paralyzed in a hit-and-run accident in San Francisco 13 years ago. In an emotional retelling from a wheelchair, the alleged victim said she "cannot remain silent anymore" and lamented that her childhood had "ended too soon." Immediately after the video was posted on Sept. 2, social media users pointed out reasons to be wary. The purported news channel it came from, San Francisco's KBSF-TV, didn't exist. A website for the channel set up just a week earlier contained plagiarized articles from real news outlets. The woman's X-ray images shown in the video were taken from online medical journals. And the video and the text story on the website spelled the alleged victim's name differently. The caution was warranted, according to a new Microsoft threat intelligence report, which confirms the fabricated tale was disinformation from a Russia-linked troll farm. The tech giant's report released Tuesday details how Kremlin-aligned actors that at first struggled to adapt to President Joe Biden dropping out of the race have now gone full throttle in their covert influence efforts against Harris and Democrats. It also explains how Russian intelligence actors are collaborating with pro-Russian cyber "hacktivists" to boost allegedly hacked-and-leaked materials, a strategy the company notes could be weaponized to undermine U.S. confidence in November's election outcome. The findings reveal how even through dramatic changes in the political landscape, groups linked to America's foreign adversaries have redoubled their commitment to sway U.S. political opinion as the election nears, sometimes through deeply manipulative means. They also provide further insight into how Russia's efforts to fight pro-Ukrainian policy in the U.S. are translating into escalating attacks on the Democratic presidential ticket. The report builds on previous concerns the U.S. has had about Russian interference in the upcoming election. Earlier this month, the Biden administration seized Kremlin-run websites and charged two Russian state media employees in an alleged scheme to secretly fund and influence a network of right-wing influencers. Russia-linked actors have spent several months seeking to manipulate American perspectives with covert postings, but until this point, their efforts saw little traction. Notably, some of the recent examples cited in the Microsoft report received significant social media engagement from unwitting Americans who shared the fake stories with outrage. "As the election approaches, people get more heated," Clint Watts, general manager of the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center said in an interview. "People tend to take in information from sources they don't really know or wouldn't even know to evaluate." Microsoft explained that the video blaming Harris for a fake hit-and-run incident came from a Russian-aligned influence network it calls Storm-1516, which other researchers refer to as CopyCop. The video, whose main character is played by an actor, is typical of the group's efforts to react to current events with authentic-seeming "whistleblower" accounts that may seem like juicy unreported news to U.S. voters, the company said. The report revealed a second video disseminated by the group, which purported to show two Black men beating up a bloodied white woman at a rally for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. The video racked up thousands of shares on the social platform X and elicited comments like, "This is the kind of stuff to start civil wars." Microsoft's report also pointed to another Russian influence actor it calls Storm-1679 that has recently pivoted from posting about the French election and the Paris Olympics to posting about Harris. Earlier this month, the group posted a manipulated video depicting a Times Square billboard that linked Harris to gender-affirming surgeries. The content highlighted in the report doesn't appear to use generative artificial intelligence tools. It instead uses actors and more old-school editing techniques. Watts said Microsoft has been tracking the use of AI by nation states for more than a year and while foreign actors tried AI initially, many have gone back to basics as they've realized AI was "probably more time-consuming and not more effective." Asked about Russia's motivation, Watts said the Russia-aligned groups Microsoft tracks may not necessarily support particular candidates, but they are motivated to undermine anyone who "is supporting Ukraine in their policy." Harris has vowed to continue supporting America's ally Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion if elected president. Trump has demurred when asked about whether he wants Ukraine to win the war, saying in the recent presidential debate, " I want the war to stop." At a forum in early September, Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to suggest jokingly that he would support Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming U.S. election. Intelligence officials have said Moscow prefers Trump. The Harris campaign declined to comment. The Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. Earlier this summer, Microsoft found that Iranian groups have also been laying the groundwork to stoke division in the election by creating fake news sites, impersonating activists and targeting a presidential campaign with an email phishing attack. U.S. intelligence officials are preparing criminal charges in connection with that attack, which targeted the Trump campaign, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Microsoft's new report also touches on how a Chinese-linked influence actor has used short-form video to criticize Biden and Harris and to create anti-Trump content, suggesting it doesn't appear interested in supporting a particular candidate. Instead, the company said, the China-aligned group's apparent goal is to "seed doubt and confusion among American voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election."

Kremlin-Aligned Group Behind False Hit-And-Run Allegations Against Kamala Harris, Microsoft Says - Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)

A false hit-and-run story involving Kamala Harris is part of a Russian disinformation campaign, Microsoft MSFT said. What Happened: A fabricated claim that Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris paralyzed a 13-year-old girl in a 2011 hit-and-run incident in San Francisco is the work of a Russian disinformation group, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Researchers at Microsoft identified the group, dubbed Storm-1516, as a Kremlin-aligned troll farm. The operation involved creating a video, hiring an actor to pose as the victim, and disseminating the story through a fake news website named "KBSF-TV." The disinformation effort is seen as part of Russia's strategy to influence the upcoming U.S. presidential election on November 5. The Russian embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment. In a blog post published on Tuesday, Microsoft noted that Storm-1516 began targeting Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, with false conspiracy theories in late August. See Also: Trump In Trouble: Vice President Harris Has Record 6-Point Lead In 2024 Election Poll After Debate, Posts Highest Rankings In Key Demographics The fake news website KBSF-TV was created shortly before releasing the article about the alleged incident. The claim spread on social media platforms, including X.com, under the hashtag #HitAndRunKamala. The video was shared by Aussie Cossack, a self-described "Registered foreign agent for Sputnik News," and has been viewed over 2.7 million times. Microsoft's Threat Analysis Center stated that pro-Russian entities helped amplify the video's reach. Earlier this month, the U.S. Justice Department charged two employees of Russian state media network RT with money laundering for allegedly hiring an American company to produce election-influencing content. Why It Matters: The revelation of this disinformation campaign comes amid a broader pattern of Russian interference in U.S. elections. According to Microsoft's Threat Analysis Center, Russian cyber-influence operations have increasingly targeted the Harris-Walz campaign as the 2024 presidential election approaches. Earlier this year, Meta Platforms reported dismantling numerous Facebook accounts linked to covert influence campaigns from countries including Russia. These campaigns utilized AI tools to create fake images, videos, and text, aiming to manipulate users on social media platforms. Additionally, the Kremlin has expressed a preference for Harris over Donald Trump, citing her "predictability" as a key factor. This sentiment was shared by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in an interview, highlighting Russia's strategic calculations in the U.S. presidential race. Peskov dismissed Trump's claims of swiftly resolving the Ukraine conflict as "fantasy." Read Next: Trump Vs Harris: New Poll Reveals Post-Debate Swing Towards This Candidate In Key State Image via Shutterstock This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Microsoft issues 'Russian warning' for videos on Kamala Harris, here's what the company's GM said - Times of India

Russian propaganda groups have ramped up efforts to undermine Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign by spreading fabricated videos on social media, according to a new report from Microsoft. Microsoft's Threat Analysis Center identified two Kremlin-linked troll farms that have recently shifted their focus to attacking Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. One group created a viral video falsely accusing Harris of involvement in a 2011 hit-and-run accident that allegedly paralyzed a 13-year-old girl. The fake story was disseminated through a sham website posing as a San Francisco news outlet, garnering over 7 million views across platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. Another fabricated video purported to show Harris supporters assaulting a Trump rally attendee. "The shift to focusing on the Harris-Walz campaign reflects a strategic move by Russian actors aimed at exploiting any perceived vulnerabilities in the new candidates," said Clint Watts, general manager of Microsoft's Threat Analysis Center. The report noted that Russian influence operations initially struggled to adapt after President Biden withdrew from the race in July. However, by late August, the groups had pivoted to producing content implicating Harris and Walz in "outlandish fake conspiracy theories." Earlier this month, the US Justice Department charged two employees of Russian state media outlet RT with funnelling nearly $10 million to create and amplify content aligned with Russian interests. Microsoft warned that Russian-backed groups are likely to increase production of staged videos and AI-edited content as Election Day approaches. The company said it had suspended over 20 email accounts linked to ANO Dialog, a Russian nonprofit sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for election interference activities. While Russia appears to be the most active foreign actor targeting the 2024 race, Microsoft also noted ongoing influence operations by Iran and China. Iranian hackers have attempted to infiltrate both major campaigns, while China-linked accounts are pushing divisive political content on social media. The TOI Tech Desk is a dedicated team of journalists committed to delivering the latest and most relevant news from the world of technology to readers of The Times of India. TOI Tech Desk's news coverage spans a wide spectrum across gadget launches, gadget reviews, trends, in-depth analysis, exclusive reports and breaking stories that impact technology and the digital universe. Be it how-tos or the latest happenings in AI, cybersecurity, personal gadgets, platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and more; TOI Tech Desk brings the news with accuracy and authenticity.

Harris-Walz Campaign Targeted By Russian Hackers, Microsoft Threat Analysis Center Notices Shift In Tactics By Attackers - Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Microsoft Corporation MSFT has reported that Russian cyber-influence operations are now targeting the Kamala Harris-Tim Walz campaign in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election. What Happened: In a blog post on Tuesday, Microsoft's Threat Analysis Center, or MTAC stated that it has noticed a change in Russian tactics. Two Russian actors that Microsoft tracks as Storm-1516 and Storm-1679, have been under MTAC's close watch. Storm-1516, identified as a Kremlin-aligned troll farm, produced and disseminated two inauthentic videos, each generating millions of views. Storm-1679, reportedly aligned with the Kremlin, shifted its focus from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games to publishing false videos discrediting the Democratic nominee Harris. See Also: Mark Zuckerberg Says He Is Done Apologizing, Reveals One Of The Biggest Mistakes Of His Career Microsoft also highlighted that Russia and Iran are not the only countries using influence operations to affect the election. A Chinese-linked influence actor, which Microsoft calls Storm-1852, has successfully pivoted to short-form video content criticizing the Biden administration and Harris campaign. "Collectively, these three nation states -- Iran, China and Russia -- demonstrate the complexities of foreign interference that the US faces, and the need for the public to remain vigilant against these evolving threats," the tech giant stated. Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox. Why It Matters: The recent cyber attacks on the Harris-Walz campaign come in the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putin's public support for Vice President Harris in the 2024 presidential election, although he probably meant that in a sarcastic manner. U.S. intelligence officials have noted that Russia is attempting to influence voters toward Donald Trump and away from Harris. "Russia, Iran, and China are trying by some measure to exacerbate divisions in U.S. society for their own benefit, and see election periods as moments of vulnerability," stated the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in September. Russia has also been reportedly using American social media influencers to sway the 2024 U.S. presidential election. In August, Trump's presidential campaign confirmed a security breach in its internal communications, suspecting the attack was carried out by "foreign sources hostile to the U.S." Check out more of Benzinga's Consumer Tech coverage by following this link. Read Next: Elon Musk Reacts After Mark Cuban Says He Would Buy X 'In A Heartbeat' Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs