Targeted Candidates and Fabricated Content
Social media videos believed to be produced with artificial intelligence and linked to Russia are misusing real people’s names and photographs to spread disinformation about two Democratic Senate candidates in the final stretch of midterm voting.
One target is Sherrod Brown, who is running against Republican Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio. The video, which appears to include some AI manipulation, depicts a newscast and includes a picture of Haya Akbik, who interned for Brown several years ago.
Akbik told The Associated Press that any claims attributed to her in the clip are "completely made up" and false. She stated that the fabrication uses her name and reputation to make allegations that are "just completely false," noting that it harms both the senator and herself in the process.
Another target is James Talarico, who is running against Republican Ken Paxton for a Senate seat in Texas. A video framed as a direct-to-camera confessional from a former student of Talarico was also believed to include AI manipulation.
Expert Analysis and Platform Response
Clemson University professor and media forensics expert Darren Linvill said the new videos bear similar hallmarks to clips from a Russian network known as Storm-1516 that targeted Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in 2024. He noted that accounts sharing recent material had also shared former content from Storm-1516.
Dartmouth College professor Hany Farid said his analyses showed the videos targeting Brown and Talarico were likely generated or manipulated using AI. He described the video targeting Brown as a "fairly low-tech fake" and the one targeting Talarico as consistent with previous disinformation campaigns released close to Election Day.
The social media company X took down initial posts sharing the videos and suspended users for violating platform rules, though copies remained online with hundreds of shares.
Political Reactions and Official Statements
Talarico spokesperson JT Ennis stated that powerful people are slandering Talarico with AI deepfakes, foreign bots, and conspiracy theories to protect their corrupt political system.
Akbik said the video featuring her shows the importance of Congress regulating "AI slop on the internet." The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment but has previously denied interfering in U.S. elections. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency did not respond to a request for comment.