Russian-state media is spreading false narratives on social media accusing the US government of gross incompetence in the wake of Hurricane Helene and Milton – all to influence voters in the run-up to the presidential election, a new report found.
It’s Russia’s latest disinformation campaign to undermine the Biden-Harris administration and instill mistrust among American voters, according to new research released Thursday by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (IDS).
What’s more, Moscow’s October propaganda push about disaster relief failures has been allowed to spread like wildfire across X and other mainstream media platforms, reaching large audiences without any oversight, the research found.
Kremlin-linked media outlets, government representatives and social media accounts are “highlighting themes of alleged administrative failure, inadequate Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) response, and the prioritization of foreign and migrant aid over US citizens,” the IDS report stated.
Concrete examples of Russia’s mass proliferation include an AI-generated meme of Disneyland flooded and underwater and comments made by X owner Elon Musk “suggesting US financial support for Ukraine was detracting from hurricane relief efforts.”
Some divisive posts had upward of 40K likes, while others were said to have been shared hundreds of times across X – all without any fact-checking or state-affiliated labels.
The IDS report – which covered online content from September 24th to October 18th – found that instead of creating propaganda from scratch, pro-Russian accounts are simply repurposing and resharing posts already written by frustrated political groups and other disgruntled Americans, a process known as seeding.
“These campaigns are particularly effective because they latch onto narratives already circulating within US political discourse,” the IDS said.
The bad actors typically wait a few days before inserting themselves into ongoing discussions, which gives the operatives “a veneer of credibility” and increases a post's virality.
In fact, the rampant spread of false rumors about inadequate disaster relief led to a barrage of death threats towards FEMA workers on social media this month, with one man actually arrested on October 14th.
Biden to Ukraine: $2.4B you say? Take my money! Take my money! While you’re at it, take their money too!
undefined RT (@RT_com) October 3, 2024
Kamala to Hurricane Helene survivors: Best I can do is $750. pic.twitter.com/upjdoDpPgH
To note, nearly three weeks after Hurricane Helene made landfall across the southeast in late September, and Hurricane Milton barely a week later, thousands of residents are still reported to be without power and government offices are still closed in some of the hardest hit states.
Specific narratives exploited by Russian operatives over the past month include:
- Diverting funds to Ukraine at the expense of US disaster relief
- Biden administration’s incompetence in disaster relief.
- FEMA’s Inability to provide effective aid.
- Anti-immigration sentiment.
Russian actors have also ben seen ramping up their use of AI-enhanced deepfake videos about Vice President Harris in recent weeks.
On Wednesday, an official Microsoft blog on foreign election interference revealed that the “Kremlin-aligned troll farm tracked as Storm-1516” had created a false video about Democratic vice president nominee Tim Walz. The video garnered more than 5 million views within the first 24 hours it was posted on X.
IDS is a London-based non-profit that monitors, in real-time, online manipulation, disinformation, hate, and extremism to support democracy and human rights worldwide.
The platform used for data study included X as the primary source, followed by VK, Telegram, and Rumble.
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