Microsoft reports an escalation in cyber attacks targeting the Kamala Harris presidential campaign, utilizing deceitful video content.
One of the bogus videos, as stated by Microsoft, was widely viewed, with Microsoft claiming it had been watched millions of times. This video purportedly depicted supporters of Harris attacking an attendee of a Donald Trump rally. Another video spread false information, asserting that Harris had caused a young girl's paralysis in a 2011 hit-and-run incident. This discredited story was promoted through a fake local San Francisco media site by Russian operatives, as per Microsoft researchers.
As of Tuesday afternoon, both videos were still available on X, with one post racking up 1.5 million views alone. CNN has reached out to the social media platform for comment.
The report serves as further proof of the escalating attempts by Kremlin-linked trolls and digital operatives to degrade Harris's campaign, just weeks before the election. US intelligence agencies predicted in July that Russia would clandestinely exploit social media to influence public opinion and weaken backing for Ukraine in crucial voting districts.
Russia's preferences in the presidential race have remained the same since 2020 and 2016, when Moscow engaged in a variety of influence operations to denigrate Biden and Clinton, respectively, as per the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
CNN has requested responses to the Microsoft report from the Harris-Walz campaign and from the Russian Embassy in Washington, DC.
Russians “had trouble transitioning” to attacking Harris
Initially, after Biden withdrew from the presidential race in July, Russian influence operations experienced difficulties in transitioning to new targets, according to Microsoft. However, from late August to early September, the videos attacking Harris and her supporters surfaced.
The shift in focus on the Harris-Walz campaign represents a calculated move by Russian actors aiming to capitalize on any perceived weaknesses in the fresh candidates, explained Clint Watts, general manager of the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center, in a blog post.
The research emerged at a time of heightened US government action to curtail Russian disinformation efforts aimed at shaping the views of American voters during the campaign's concluding stages.
The State Department last week declassified intelligence suggesting that Russian state-run media outlet RT has become a fully incorporated component of Russia's global intelligence operations, including those aimed at influencing elections.
This was followed by an indictment filed by the Justice Department against two RT employees, accused of transferring almost $10 million to a US company, identified by CNN as Tenet Media, to create and amplify content that aligned with Russian interests.
US social media giant Meta announced a ban on RT on Monday, citing its foreign interference activities.
Iran has also been an active force in trying to shape the US presidential campaign, according to US intelligence officials.
Tehran has engaged in covert social media activities to weaken Trump's campaign, US officials claim. Additionally, Iranian government-backed hackers have targeted the Trump campaign with a hack-and-leak of internal campaign documents to US media outlets, as per a statement from the FBI and other agencies.
The escalating attempts by Russian actors to degrade Kamala Harris's campaign, as revealed in the Microsoft report, underscores the broader concern about foreign interference in politics. This interference includes the dissemination of false information, such as the bogus videos about Harris, aimed at manipulating public opinion.
