Russian disinformation agents target right-wing sites ahead of US election

01 November 2024

On right-wing and pro-MAGA websites, it isn't uncommon to find conspiracy theories being promoted in the comments section. And according to Wired's David Gilbert, some of them are coming from Russia.

"The disinformation narratives being pushed by these accounts are linked to Storm-1516, according to Newsguard," Gilbert explains in an article published on November 1. "Storm-1516 is a Russian disinformation campaign with a history of posting fake videos to push Kremlin talking points to the West that was also connected to the release of deepfake video falsely claiming to show a whistleblower making allegations of sexual assault against vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz."

The claims about Walz were totally false. And Russian disinformation providers, many of whom are hoping that Donald Trump will win the United States' 2024 presidential race, are not shy about making things up. For example, an account calling itself "Dan From Ohio" falsely claimed that ballots for Trump were being destroyed in Bucks County, Pennsylvania outside Philadelphia.

NewsGuard, according to Gilbert, has found Storm-1516 targeting the comments sections of four pro-Trump websites: the Gateway Pundit, Breitbart News, Fox News and the New York Post.

NewsGuard's McKenzie Sadeghi told Wired, "The actors behind this campaign appear to be exploiting a particularly vulnerable part of the media landscape. Comment sections designed to foster reader engagement lack robust security measures, allowing bad actors to post freely, change identities, and create the illusion of genuine grassroots campaigns rather than orchestrated propaganda."

NewsGuard, according to Gilbert, has "identified 104 articles in Russian state media that cited comments from western news outlets as evidence to back up their claims."

Sadeghi told Wired, " This tactic allows bad actors to reduce the risk of detection and embed propaganda in a subtle, seemingly organic way, blending it into the casual commentary of supposed everyday Western readers,” Sadeghi said. “The repetition of the same claim across multiple formats and contexts can create a sense of familiarity that may lend the narratives an appearance of credibility.”

Read Wired's full article at this link.

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