Russian operatives created a fake Kamala Harris campaign website using AI-enhanced content to spread disinformation about her policy positions during the 2024 US election.
On September 24, 2024, pro-Kremlin social media users began sharing a link to NewWayForward.us, a fake website presenting itself as the official Harris campaign site. The website was registered on September 18, 2024, under the fake identity 'Syrinx Difiora' and included fabricated policy positions like open borders, abolishing ICE, and ending voter ID laws. NewsGuard identified similarities between this site and other Russian disinformation operations, linking it to John Dougan, a former Florida deputy sheriff turned Kremlin propagandist operating from Moscow. The fake site circulated across multiple platforms including Reddit, VK, Telegram, X, and Facebook. Microsoft reported that Russian groups like Storm-1516 have been creating AI-enhanced videos targeting the Harris-Walz campaign, including deepfakes of Harris making inappropriate jokes about Trump assassination attempts and fabricated videos claiming Harris killed an endangered rhinoceros. These disinformation efforts are part of broader Russian, Iranian, and Chinese influence operations targeting the 2024 US election, with Microsoft expecting increased AI-assisted fake news in the final weeks before election day.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
Using AI systems to conduct large-scale disinformation campaigns, malicious surveillance, or targeted and sophisticated automated censorship and propaganda, with the aim of manipulating political processes, public opinion, and behavior.
Human
Due to a decision or action made by humans
Intentional
Due to an expected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed