Russians are targeting Kamala Harris, warns Microsoft

Disinformation videos designed to influence American voters and undermine their confidence in Vice President Kamala Harris have emerged in recent weeks. According to Microsoft, these videos were produced by tech groups linked to Russia.

A new Microsoft report finds that Russia is now throwing all of its disinformation resources behind operations designed to undermine the Harris-Walz campaign.https://t.co/uinsE6cj2f

— Axios (@axios) September 17, 2024

Microsoft reports that foreign operations, which initially struggled to adjust their tactics after President Joe Biden withdrew from the election race, have now become more aggressive in targeting Kamala Harris.

Their strategies include amplifying alleged leaks and hacked documents with the aim of distorting public perception and generating negative opinion of Kamala Harris.

Among these videos, one stands out for its disturbing content and the fact that it has been seen and shared by millions. It tells the story of a young black girl who claims that Kamala Harris paralyzed her following a car accident involving an alleged hit-and-run in San Francisco in 2011.

The video was released by KBSF TV, a fictitious company allegedly based in San Francisco, created by the Russians a few days before it was posted, according to the Microsoft report. In addition to this fabricated video, the website offered plagiarized articles to reinforce its appearance of credibility.

In addition, the evidence presented in this fictitious story, including X-rays, came from medical journals, and the spelling of the alleged victims’ names was incorrect.

Microsoft’s report confirms that this story is a fabrication of a Russian disinformation operation called Storm-1516.

Another story fabricated by the Storm-1516 operation showed in a video an attack at a Donald Trump rally, allegedly orchestrated by Kamala Harris supporters against an event attendee.

Also according to the report, Storm-1679, another Russian operation that targeted the Paris Olympics, recently redirected its forwards to Kamala Harris.

One of the many videos associated with Storm-1679 showed a fake billboard in New York broadcasting false claims about Harris’ policies. This video was seen by thousands of users on X shortly after its initial post… on Telegram.

While Microsoft claims that the goal in publishing these reports is to foster education and defend institutions from foreign interference, this report reveals that major tech companies actually hold far more information on this subject than the public imagines.