Russia was behind false social posts about Tim Walz: U.S. intelligence official

Catch up quick: False claims that the Democratic vice presidential nominee abused a student as a teacher went viral earlier this month, after an anonymous X account posted what it said were screenshots of correspondence with an alleged victim.

• The documents were debunked, and the account soon disappeared from the site.

Driving the news: Multiple experts tracking disinformation told Wired this week that the posts appear to be connected to a disinformation network with ties to Russia called Storm-1516.

• An official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence confirmed those assessments on Tuesday, telling reporters that "Russian influence actors created and amplified" the fabricated content.

What they're saying: Morgan Finkelstein, a national security spokesperson for the Harris-Walz campaign, said they "condemn in the strongest terms any effort by foreign actors to interfere in U.S. elections."

Zoom in: The effort to smear Walz included an AI-generated "deepfake" video purporting to be of a former student.

• But the man whose name and identity were used in the video told The Washington Post that while he went to the Mankato high school where Walz taught, he had never even met the future governor.

The big picture: The misinformation about Walz is just one example of the Russian group's work this election cycle.

• NBC News worked with researchers to identify at least 50 false narratives launched using the group's tactics since last fall.

The bottom line: AI-enabled tools are making it easier than ever to create and promote false information online.

• In an election with razor-thin margins, false claims that sway even a relatively small number of voters could influence who wins.

Go deeper: How to spot election misinformation and stop its spread.

Editor's note: This story was updated with a response from the Harris-Walz campaign.