Russia's digital campaign targets Harris with fake recordings
Russia is intensifying its disinformation activities targeting Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris. The American corporation Microsoft reports disseminating fake recordings aimed at discrediting Harris before the elections.
At the end of August, Storm-1516, a group 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 US 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 paralysed, 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 we inch closer to the election, we should expect Russian actors to continue to use cyber proxies and hacktivist groups to amplify their messages through media websites and social channels geared to spread divisive political content, staged videos, and AI-enhanced propaganda - 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 per cent.
The US presidential elections will take place on 5th November.
