Christopher Bing
(Reuters) – A false claim circulating on social media that Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris caused a hit-and-run crash in San Francisco in 2011 that paralyzed a 13-year-old girl is the result of a covert Russian disinformation operation, according to a new investigation by Microsoft Corp.
The researchers found that the attack involved creating videos, paying actors to appear as the alleged victims, and spreading the claims through a fake website for a fictitious San Francisco news outlet called KBSF-TV. The Russian group, which Microsoft has dubbed Storm-1516, is described as a Kremlin-aligned troll farm.
Microsoft said the discovery was a sign of Russia stepping up its foreign influence efforts ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election.
A spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.
“Russian influence operations initially struggled to pivot to targeting Democratic campaigns following President Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 U.S. presidential race,” Microsoft said in a blog post published on Tuesday.
“However, in late August, a group of known Russian actors from Storm1516 began producing content implicating Vice President Harris and Governor Waltz in outlandish false conspiracy theories,” Microsoft said, referring to Harris’ running mate, Tim Waltz.
Experts say Storm1516 is known for producing misleading videos featuring actors and voice actors posing as whistleblowers and journalists who share false and scandalous information.
According to online registry records, the KBSF-TV website was created shortly before publishing the first related story about the driving incident. The claim was spread on social media platforms, including X.com, using the hashtag “#HitAndRunKamala.”
The video was also shared on X.com on September 3rd by Ozzy Kosak, who describes himself as a “registered foreign agent for Sputnik News,” with the message, “MAGA folks, please spread this around.” In total, the video is estimated to have been viewed more than 2.7 million times.
“Many actors within the pro-Russian ecosystem spread the video and its claims,” Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center said. “Storm-1516 has used certain actors, such as Aussie Cossack, to help spread the video.”
Kosak did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Justice charged two employees of Russian state-run media network RT with money laundering after officials said they planned to outsource the production of online content to influence the election to U.S. companies.
The story continues
U.S. officials say Russia’s aim is to exacerbate political divisions in the United States and undermine public support for U.S. military aid to Ukraine. Harris has said that if elected, she would continue to help defend Ukraine against Russian aggression.
(Reporting by Christopher Bing and Stephen Coates Editing)
