Russia levies fabricated accusations of child abuse against Walz, Harris's deputy.
Russia is interfering in the ongoing U.S. election process. Their method of choice: A computer-generated video accuses Tim Walz, the vice-presidential candidate for Democrat Kamala Harris, of sexually abusing a minor. This video has been viewed millions of times, and emotions are running high. However, the alleged footage is a deepfake, a four-minute video created using advanced technology.
The origins of the video were unclear until recently. Now, U.S. intelligence agencies, as reported by "Fox News", claim that Russia is behind this video, its actors being responsible for its creation and spread. This is just one of many instances on social media portraying Walz as a sexual offender. These posts indicate that Russia is trying to influence the presidential election in favor of Republican Donald Trump through social media. Russia has been interfering in elections since 2016 and 2020.
It is believed that Russia's propaganda unit "Storm-1516" is responsible for the creation of this video, according to tech magazine "Wired". They report that the group is known for spreading wild and baseless claims about vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz allegedly sexually abusing one of his former students. "Storm-1516" has been attempting to spread fake news in U.S. media since fall 2023 at least 50 times, as reported by "NBC News".
Deepfakes targeting Harris too
The group reportedly uses fake whistleblower and deepfake videos to promote Russian-centric topics in the U.S. media landscape. They are also responsible for a fake video about Kamala Harris from September, falsely claiming that the presidential candidate fled the scene of an accident in San Francisco in 2011. Police deny that the accident ever happened, and the alleged local news station that reported it does not exist.
Accusations against Walz have been circulating since last week. The user account "Black Insurrectionist" posted alleged screenshots of a minor who claimed to have had a relationship with Walz and was now sharing his story. Later, another person appeared in a video claiming to have spoken to one of Walz's victims. Finally, a deepfake video of Matthew Metro from the high school where Walz taught appeared, accusing the vice-presidential candidate. This video was viewed over 5 million times before it was taken down.
The name Matthew Metro is legitimate, and he attended Mankato West High School in Minnesota many years ago. However, the face was not his, and the voice was incorrect - this was discovered by the "Washington Post" after they tracked down the real Matthew Metro in Hawaii. "That's obviously not me," the 45-year-old is quoted as saying. He had never met Walz. Meanwhile, the original tweet's user account no longer exists.
QAnon at its peak
Conspiracy theorists and some Trump supporters have been circulating allegations of child abuse against Democrats. During the 2020 election campaign, these claims reached their zenith in the assertions of QAnon followers: According to them, Democrats worship Satan, run a child trafficking ring, and thus control politics and the media. They allegedly cannibalize babies and children to extend their lives. Generals in the military were supposedly chosen by Donald Trump to hold these cult members accountable for their actions. According to the conspiracy theory, members include US President Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama, George Soros, and numerous prominent Democrats.
The U.S. intelligence services warn not just about the current Walz case but also about potential unrest on social media after the presidential election on November 1st. If Harris wins, Russian actors are likely to become more aggressive in causing unrest. Moscow prefers a Trump victory.
The allegations against Joe Biden, as part of the QAnon conspiracy theories, accuse him of being involved in a child trafficking ring and worshipping Satan, along with several other prominent Democrats.
Despite these baseless claims, Joe Biden has not been directly involved in the deepfake videos circulating during the U.S. election process, which accused Tim Walz, his running mate Kamala Harris's vice-presidential candidate, of sexually abusing a minor.
