Russia intensifies AI-driven influence in U.S. midterm elections

Storm-1516 targets Democratic Senate candidate with fake videos

Russian operations attributed to the group Storm-1516 spread a baseless accusation against a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate this week by staging fake videos with actors and laundering the claims through influencer accounts. On Tuesday, an account created last month posted two of these fraudulent videos on X. The platform flagged the account as possibly using a proxy or virtual private network to disguise its location.

Graphika, a research company, analyzed the videos and determined they were likely created using artificial intelligence by swapping the faces of real actors to look like other people. One of the fake videos targeting the Senate candidate received approximately 857,000 views within 24 hours of being posted, according to an analysis by Alethea.

By late Wednesday, X suspended the account that first posted the fraudulent videos and one of the large accounts that reshared them. Two other large accounts that amplified the content removed their posts.

Darren Linvill and Lisa Kaplan analyze Russian election tactics

Darren Linvill, co-director of Clemson University's Media Forensics Hub, said the primary goal for Russia is to undermine U.S. support for Ukraine. Linvill noted that "at the end of the day, the main issue for Russia is and has to be Ukraine".

Lisa Kaplan, founder of Alethea, described Russia's role in the election as "essentially a dark money PAC". Kaplan said these operations focus on understanding if they are effective in moving voters in specific directions. She added that in final posts leading up to the election, the intent is "evoking that emotion".

Intelligence officials confirm Russian opposition to Ukraine supporters

Mark Warner, D-Va., vice chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, said they reviewed a classified intelligence report. The report shows that Russia opposes candidates from either party who have supported Ukraine.

Himes stated that while there is a robust influence environment, there is no indication that foreign countries have the capability or intent to interfere with the actual mechanics of voting.

Global reach of Storm-1516 operations

During the 2024 presidential election, Storm-1516 posted fraudulent videos making unfounded accusations against Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz. The group also posted content purporting to show ballots for President Trump being destroyed.

Graphika reported on Friday that the same Russian operations active in the U.S. midterms have targeted elections in France, Germany, and other countries over the past six months. These operations used AI-generated audio and impersonations of politicians, celebrities, and media outlets.

Researchers anticipate surge in false claims before election day

Researchers tracking Storm-1516 and other groups expect more false claims and fake videos. They anticipate these operations will focus on voting and ballot processing in the period immediately surrounding election day.

Shannon Bond, a correspondent at NPR, covers how misleading narratives and false claims circulate online and offline. NPR's Eric McDaniel contributed to this report.