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Russian Propaganda Unit Appears to Be Behind Spread of False Tim Walz Sexual Abuse Claims
The Russian-aligned network Storm-1516 has a long history of posting fake whistleblower videos—including deepfakes—to push Kremlin talking points.
A Russian-aligned propaganda network notorious for creating deepfake whistleblower videos appears to be behind a coordinated effort to promote wild and baseless claims that Minnesota governor and vice presidential candidate Tim Walz sexually assaulted one of his former students, according to several specialists tracking the disinformation campaign. NBC reported this week that the group has pushed at least 50 false narratives in this manner since last fall, which comes amidst a broader Russian government effort to disrupt next month’s election with the aim of helping former president Donald Trump return to the White House. “The false narrative appears to be part of a wider campaign pushed by pro-Kremlin media and QAnon influencers ahead of the November 5, 2024, US elections aimed at portraying Walz whose political appeal is as an everyman school teacher and coach as a pedophile who had inappropriate relationships with minors,” Sadeghi wrote in an analysis of the deepfake video.
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