The videos have been viewed millions of times on X, that stinkhole of disinformation previously known as Twitter, and are still posted there despite being debunked as a hoax of foreign origin attempting to influence our election with lies.
A man dishonestly assumes the identity of a former high school student from Minnesota and lobs false claims about sexual abuse by that state's governor, Tim Walz, a former teacher and now the Democratic nominee for vice president.
Who would do this? And why? Our elections past is prologue when it comes to disinformation.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) recently assessed that "Russian influence actors manufactured and amplified inauthentic content claiming illegal activity" by Walz "consistent with the influence efforts and tactics" the Russians have used during this election.
The Washington Post tracked down the former student being impersonated in the video, who said that it was not him and that Walz had not been his teacher.
Elon Musk, the multibillionaire trying to buy Donald Trump's way back into the White House, owns X and has become a pernicious amplifier of election disinformation himself. No wonder he left the video out there for all to see.
American voters need to do two critical and patriotic things in the next nine days ‒ vote for whichever candidate for president you support, and dodge the looming storm of disinformation. Here's an optional third assignment ‒ ask yourself why this type of disinformation more often than not leans so hard toward helping Trump win.
This kind of nonsense comes in all sizes. The fake video about Walz drew plenty of national attention, but disinformation is also aimed at the local........