“Bloomberg reviewed 130 fake videos that a Russian operation pushed onto X over the past month. We’re not gonna play the videos, but here’s some of the thumbnails:
Scenes from Russia’s faked videos supporting Republicans.
“They’re using logos and graphics from reputable outlets to push AI-generated clips and bogus stories about Democrats. One fake ABC clip claims James Talarico used Texas money to pay Onlyfans models. Another with a CBS logo claims the IRS found 8 secret properties belonging to Jon Ossoff. In other videos, deepfake versions of celebrities like Robert De Niro and Julia Roberts accuse Democrats of the usual conspiracy theories involving sex cults and child predator rings.
Researchers trace the content to a Kremlin operation that’s been running since 2023. But this cycle the Russians aren’t just going after presidential candidates. Bloomberg found fake stories about 29 of the 36 Democrats running for governor and 20 of the 35 running for Senate.
“Then the bot farms come in. These videos are posted by accounts with only a handful of followers, but the videos explode as soon as they’re posted. Fifty thousand views in twenty minutes. Seventy-five thousand views in half an hour. And then nothing. The views fall off a cliff. Bots swarm the videos in an attempt to get them recommended to real people.
“The Russian government is doing everything it can to help Republicans win this election. And no wonder. With the GOP in power, Putin has friends in Washington. He has a way to sell his diesel, a ticket to the G7, and a friend in the White House.
So if you needed another reason to come out and vote this November, there it is. Let’s stick it to the Russians.”
