A senior U.S. intelligence official said Tuesday that a Russian group created and helped spread viral disinformation targeting Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz.
Officials with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said the content included unsubstantiated accusations about the Minnesota governor’s time as a teacher and contained several signs that it was manipulated.
The official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity under rules set by the director’s office, said analysts had identified clues linking the content to a Russian disinformation operation.
Digital researchers had previously linked the video to Russia, but Tuesday’s announcement marks the first time federal authorities have confirmed the link.
The disinformation targeting Walz is consistent with Russian disinformation aimed at undermining the Democratic campaign of Kamala Harris and vice presidential candidate Walz. Officials say Russia is also spreading disinformation aimed at stoking discord and division before the vote and may be trying to encourage violent protests after Election Day. .
Last month, Microsoft analysts revealed that a viral video in which Harris made baseless claims that he paralyzed a woman in a hit-and-run accident 13 years ago was a Russian disinformation project. Recently, a video was released in which a man claiming to be a former student of Walz accused the candidate of sexual misconduct several years ago. Private researchers from companies that track disinformation, including NewsGuard, have already concluded that the video is fake and that the man in the video is not who he claims to be.
The Associated Press reached out to the former employer of the man whose identity was used in the video. The employer, Viktor Eliokhin, admitted that the man in the video was a fraudster.
Some researchers have suggested the video may contain evidence created using artificial intelligence, but federal authorities have not come to a similar conclusion, saying the video may contain evidence created using artificial intelligence. only said it contained evidence of multiple operations.
China and Iran are also trying to use online disinformation to influence the U.S. election. While Russia has targeted Democratic campaigns, Iran has used disinformation to go after Republican Donald Trump and even hacked into the former president’s campaign. Meanwhile, China has focused its influence on down-ballot races and general efforts to sow distrust and dissatisfaction with democracy.
There is no indication that Russia, China or Iran are planning significant attacks on election infrastructure as a way to disrupt the results, officials said Tuesday.
Jen Easterly, director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said improved election security means no other foreign adversary can change the outcome.
Russia, China, and Iran all reject claims that they are trying to interfere in the U.S. election. A message left at the Russian embassy seeking comment on Waltz’s video was not immediately returned Tuesday.
