Microsoft: Russia behind fake Kamala Harris hit-and-run story!

Microsoft has confirmed that Russia is responsible for the fake story about Kamala Harris paralysing a 13 year-old girl in a hit-and-run accident! Here is what you need to know…

 

Fake Kamala Harris hit-and-run story : A quick primer!

Earlier this month, a video went viral on social media, showing a young Black woman on a wheelchair claiming that Vice President Kamala Harris left her paralysed in a 2011 hit-and-run accident in San Francisco.

The alleged victim, who was alternatively called Alisha Brown / Alicia Brown, said that she “cannot remain silent anymore“, and lamented that her childhood “ended too soon“.

The video by KBSF-TV showed the shattered windshield of the alleged vehicle used by Kamala Harris in that hit-and-run accident, as well as X-ray images of the alleged victim.

As I covered in my fact check article, the story was fabricated. Kamala Harris was not involved in a hit-and-run accident in 2011 in San Francisco, that left a girl paralysed.

Recommended : Did Kamala Harris paralyse girl in 2011 hit-and-run accident?!

 

Microsoft: Russia behind fake Kamala Harris hit-and-run story!

On Tuesday, 17 September 2024, the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center issued a report identifying Russia as being responsible for the fake story about Kamala Harris paralysing a 13 year-old girl in a hit-and-run accident!

According to its latest threat assessment report, Microsoft said that the fake Kamala Harris hit-and-run story was created by a covert Russian disinformation team known as Storm-1516 (also known as CopyCop).

While some people have suggested that the young Black woman was AI-generated, Microsoft said that Storm-1516 paid an actor to play the part of the alleged victim. The fake story was disseminated through a fake website for a non-existent San Francisco news outlet called KBSF-TV, that was created just a week earlier.

Clint Watts, general manager of the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center said in an ABC News interview that Microsoft has been tracking the use of AI by nation states for more than a year and while foreign actors tried AI initially, many have gone back to basics as they’ve realized AI was “probably more time-consuming and not more effective.”

Recommended : Elon Musk shares fake, digitally-altered Kamala Harris video!

The Microsoft report also highlighted a second video created and spread by Storm-1516 / CopyCop, which showed two Black men beating up a bloodied white woman at a Donald Trump rally.

Microsoft explained how Russian intelligence actors struggled initially to adapt to President Joe Biden dropping out of the race, but have now started serious attacks to discredit Kamala Harris and stoke controversy around her campaign.

A newer Russian group called Storm-1679 has allegedly pivoted from producing content about the 2024 Paris Olympic Games to publishing false videos designed to discredit Vice President Kamala Harris. One of the videos featured a fake New York City billboard showing false claims about her policies.

Microsoft warned that Russian actors will continue use cyber proxies and hacktivist groups to spread allegedly hacked or leaked materials to undermine confidence in the US Presidential election outcome.

When asked about Russia’s motivation behind these fake videos, Watts said the Russia-aligned groups Microsoft tracks may not necessarily support particular candidates, but they are motivated to undermine anyone who “is supporting Ukraine in their policy.”

Vice President Kamala Harris has publicly vowed to support Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion if elected as President. On the other hand, Donald Trump has repeatedly refused to say whether he wants Ukraine to win the war, only saying that “I want the war to stop“.

Recommended : Did Kamala Harris paralyse girl in 2011 hit-and-run accident?!

This Microsoft report comes after the Biden Administration seized Kremlin-run websites and charged two Russian state media employees in an alleged scheme to secretly fund a network of right-wing American influencers to influence the 2024 Presidential election.

Ultimately, this is yet another example of political fake news surrounding the upcoming 2024 US Presidential election. Here are some other examples I fact checked recently:

As the 2024 US Presidential election draws close, you can expect more of such fake news and/or fake videos to appear, so be wary and skeptical!

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!

 

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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