How Russia spread a fake rumour about Kamala Harris and a hit-and-run

Nathan Gallo

5 September 2024 at 11:33 am·2-min read

A fake news report posted online in early September by a fake news site claims that presidential candidate Kamala Harris was responsible for a hit-and-run back in 2011 that left a young girl in a wheelchair. Pro-Russian and pro-Trump social media accounts have been widely circulating a video featuring the alleged victim of the hit-and-run and accusing Harris. However, there are indications that the interview is fake and possibly AI-created.

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A news report published by a site called KBSF-TV features an interview with a woman named Alicia Brown, said to be the victim of a hit-and-run perpetrated by Vice President Kamala Harris back in 2011. Brown says that she now uses a wheelchair because of the accident.
However, there are a number of indications that both the interview and the site are fake. For one, the site has only been online a few weeks.
Pro-Russian and pro-Trump disinformation networks, already identified by our team in the past, were responsible for spreading this fake report widely online. It garnered more than two million views on X alone.

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"Will #HitAndRunKamala lose the US presidential election over this shocking revelation!” reads a post published on X on September 3 by a pro-Russian Australian influencer who goes by “Aussie Cossack”. His post features a video in which a young woman accuses presidential candidate Kamala Harris of a hit-and-run that occurred back in 2011.

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