Graphika said it was highly confident Russia-aligned operation Storm-1516 was behind two videos that likely were AI-generated and accused U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico, a Texas state lawmaker, of sexual assault before the Nov. 3 election.
An X account using Zyon Lewis' name uploaded the videos on Oct. 20, Graphika said. Lewis told Lead Stories in a phone interview on Oct. 21 that he was not the man depicted and that Talarico had not abused him. Lead Stories reported Hive Moderation gave the clips AI-generation likelihood scores of 99.1% and 99.8%.
Graphika cited AI-analysis results and visual features, including minimal movement from the person shown and facial motion that did not consistently match the audio. The firm said accounts that had amplified Storm-1516 previously, as well as U.S. conservative accounts, shared the clips.
In a separate report, Graphika tracked posts from Sept. 7-14 by accounts it judged likely inauthentic, including manipulated news pages and videos carrying unverified allegations about U.S. and German politicians. Graphika said Russia-aligned Operation Overload and the Foundation to Battle Injustice were behind that activity, which included Talarico among the U.S. targets.
Nextgov/FCW reported that on Oct. 21 Rep. Jim Himes, ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, and Sen. Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, discussed a classified report on Russian efforts against Democrats and Ukraine supporters from both parties. The lawmakers said they had seen no indication that Russian actors tried to change ballots or tamper with voting equipment. Himes said the aim was to create “a sense of chaos and anarchy.”
In October 2024, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said Russian actors made and spread a video falsely showing ballots being torn up in Pennsylvania. They said the effort sought to undermine trust in the vote and deepen political divisions.
NPR reported that researchers expect new falsehoods about vote administration and ballot processing as Election Day approaches. The Federal Election Commission lists Nov. 3 as the next regularly scheduled federal general election.
