Microsoft says Russian operatives are ramping up attacks on Harris campaign with fake videos

Microsoft announced on Tuesday that Russian operatives have recently escalated their online efforts to attack Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, creating and spreading videos that push "outlandish conspiracy theories" aimed at inflaming racial and political tensions in the US.

One of the false videos, which Microsoft revealed had garnered millions of views, purported to show Harris supporters assaulting someone at a Donald Trump rally. Another video wrongly accused Harris of paralyzing a young girl in a hit-and-run accident in 2011. Russian operatives circulated this false claim via a website posing as a local San Francisco news outlet, according to Microsoft researchers.

Both videos remained accessible on X (formerly known as Twitter) as of Tuesday afternoon, with one version having amassed 1.5 million views. CNN has reached out to the social media platform for comment.

This report further highlights how Kremlin-linked operatives are increasing their efforts to undermine Harris' campaign just weeks before the presidential election. In July, US intelligence agencies cautioned that Russia intended to "covertly use social media" to influence public opinion and reduce support for Ukraine in key swing states.

Russia’s preferences in the US presidential race have remained consistent since 2016 and 2020, when Moscow carried out influence operations targeting Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, respectively, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

CNN has also sought responses from the Harris-Walz campaign and the Russian Embassy in Washington, DC, regarding the Microsoft report.

Russian Operatives Pivot to Targeting Harris

Initially, after Biden’s exit from the presidential race in July, Russian influence operations “struggled to pivot” to target the new Democratic ticket, Microsoft noted. However, by late August and early September, videos attacking Harris and her supporters started to surface.

“The focus on the Harris-Walz campaign represents a calculated move by Russian actors to exploit any perceived vulnerabilities in the new candidates,” said Clint Watts, general manager of Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center, in a blog post.

This research comes as US government agencies intensify efforts to counter Russian disinformation campaigns aimed at influencing American voters in the final stages of the presidential race.

Last week, the State Department declassified intelligence claiming that the Russian state-run media outlet RT has fully integrated into Russia’s global intelligence efforts, including its election-related activities.

Additionally, the Justice Department recently unsealed an indictment accusing two RT employees of channeling nearly $10 million into a US company, identified by CNN as Tenet Media, to produce and amplify content aligned with Russian interests.

On Monday, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, announced a ban on RT due to its "foreign interference activity."

Iranian Influence Efforts

Alongside Russia, Iran has also been involved in attempts to shape the US presidential race, according to US intelligence officials.

Tehran has engaged in covert social media campaigns intended to undermine Donald Trump’s candidacy. Iranian government-backed hackers have also been accused of targeting Trump’s campaign and leaking internal documents to US media outlets, as detailed in a statement by the FBI and other agencies.