Russian propagandists have circulated a video falsely accusing Kamala Harris of involvement in a hit-and-run accident, Microsoft says.

That video was a viral hit, spread by X accounts with as a many as a half-million followers, despite first appearing on a newly minted San Francisco news outlet that soon vanished. Posts featuring the video racked up 7 million views on X alone, and were also on Facebook, TikTok and YouTube.

Another video manufactured an assault on an attendee of a rally for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, garnering millions of views, Microsoft said. One depicted a fake New York billboard with vulgar messages saying Harris wanted to change children’s gender. It drew hundreds of thousands of views on X.

In all, Microsoft called out three Russian government-backed groups in addition to those described in federal charges last week against employees at propaganda network RT.

One group was “adept at grabbing headlines with its outlandish fake videos and scandalous claims,” Microsoft said, while another “will likely only escalate its targeting of the Harris-Walz campaign in the lead-up to Election Day.”

  • @DarkCloud
    17•3 months ago

    I wonder if Russia understands that the crazed Republican supporters they’ve cultivated to slightly favor Russia with this candidate (Trump) are just as likely (if not more) to be the same ones demanding Nuclear War with Russia next election season, or the one after it.

    That’s the problem with trying to inject chaos into the world’s current super power, it might roll over and crush you whilst chaotically flailing sometime later. That’s the nature of chaos.

    What you actually want is a friendly calm America, that lets you go about your own business. Not a chaotic America run by wildcards, sycophants, and morality free billionaires.

    • @UnderpantsWeevilOPEnglish
      3•3 months ago

      Trump was more than happy to sell Ukraine surplus munitions back in 2018, when a diplomatic solution was still possible.

      Drenching the conflict with lighter fluid and waiting for someone to light a match.