Kremlin-backed Russian troll farms have been identified as a major threat to the integrity of the US presidential elections, with a new report from Microsoft revealing their disinformation campaigns targeting Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. The Microsoft Threat Analysis Center has been monitoring the activities of two Russian troll farms, which have been spreading inauthentic videos and fake news stories to discredit the candidates.
One of the troll farms, which had been struggling to find its footing after President Biden stepped down as a candidate, suddenly gained traction in late August and early September with a series of viral videos. These videos, which were viewed millions of times, included a fake attack by Harris supporters on Trump rally attendees and a staged video featuring an actor pretending to be a news anchor.
Meanwhile, the second troll farm shifted its focus from the 2024 Paris Olympics to creating videos that portrayed Harris in a negative light. One such video, which was shared on Telegram and X, showed a fake New York City billboard claiming that Harris wanted to change children’s gender. The video quickly gained over 100,000 views within hours.
Microsoft is warning that these Russian-made disinformation materials are just the tip of the iceberg, and that people can expect to see more staged and AI-edited videos circulating online as the election approaches. The company has suspended over 20 accounts connected to ANO Dialog, a Russian nonprofit that was allegedly involved in a campaign to create fake websites that mimicked major news sites.
The US government has also taken action against Russian state media outlets, indicting two employees of RT for planning to spread propaganda videos on social media. The Treasury Department has sanctioned ANO Dialog, and Meta has banned RT and other Russian state media outlets for foreign interference activity.
However, Russia is not the only country trying to influence the outcome of the US presidential elections. Microsoft, Google, and the US government have all reported on Iranian hackers attempting to spear-phish advisers to the Biden-Harris and Trump campaigns. Microsoft has also identified campaigns made to sway votes in the US by groups connected to the Iranian government, including a website that attacks and insults former President Donald Trump.
