U.S. politicians, especially Democrats, have been shouting into bullhorns for years about “misinformation” on social media. Indeed, the entire “Russia-gate” hoax that accused Donald Trump of colluding with Moscow to win the 2016 election was entirely made up, which seemed to disappoint the U.S. political left.
But now it appears there may actually be some “genuine” Russian misinformation circulating online about Vice President Kamala Harris. She is the Democratic nominee for president, running against Donald Trump after U.S. President Joe Biden unexpectedly dropped out of the race on July 21.
What’s the rumor? That Harris was part of a hit-and-run car accident in San Francisco in 2011. New research from the Microsoft corporation claims the rumor is the work of a clandestine Russian propaganda group.
Microsoft calls the group of criminals Storm-1516. They say the organization hired an actor to appear on video as the “victim,” and they created a website to distribute it through that appeared to be a local television station. But there is no such station in San Francisco called KBSF-TV. Microsoft says Storm-1516 is a “troll farm” that works in concert with the Kremlin.
Microsoft researchers think the rumor is evidence that Russia is increasing its efforts to target Americans with propaganda ahead of the presidential election this November. Media outlets have tried to contact the Russian embassy in D.C. but have not yet received any response.
Microsoft published the report on its official company blog. The article claims that Russia has been targeting the Democratic campaign for president since Biden dropped out. It is not clear why they believe that Russia would prefer to have Donald Trump as president.
The article continues, claiming that Storm-1516, which it calls a “prolific Russian actor,” started to create “outlandish” stories about Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, in August.
The Russian group is well-known for creating false or misleading video content using actors and voice actors who portray alleged “whistleblowers” who make false accusations or claim to have dirt on prominent officials.
They really go all out, fabricating entire “TV stations” and websites to push their false narratives. The fake story about Harris and the hit-and-run even claimed that the accident paralyzed a 13-year-old girl. The claims and videos apparently circulated on platforms such as X (formerly Twitter).
