{"publisher":{"name":"MediaBias News","url":"https://mediabias.news","methodology":"https://mediabias.news/methodology","editorialPrinciples":"https://mediabias.news/editorial-principles","corrections":"https://mediabias.news/corrections"},"scoreGuide":{"trust":"How well corroborated and evidenced the source reporting is. 0-100, higher is better.","critic":"Craft quality of the source journalism: context, balance, fact vs comment. 0-100, higher is better.","hype":"How far the source presentation runs ahead of substance. 0-100, LOWER IS BETTER.","scope":"Scores assess the original reporting this article was written from, not the truth of the underlying event and not the quality of this write-up."},"assessmentGuide":{"type":"coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis","factCheck":{"status":"not-performed","note":"Media Bias News compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It does not currently publish a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true."},"sourceFactuality":{"note":"Factuality values describe published ratings of the outlets that covered the story. They are not a factuality verdict on this story or its claims."}},"story":{"id":"https://mediabias.news/politics/russian-deepfake-campaign-targets-us-midterms-with-celebrity-videos","slug":"russian-deepfake-campaign-targets-us-midterms-with-celebrity-videos","url":"https://mediabias.news/politics/russian-deepfake-campaign-targets-us-midterms-with-celebrity-videos","title":"Russian deepfake campaign targets US midterms with celebrity videos","subtitle":"Kremlin-backed operation uses AI-cloned voices and fake audio on real footage to discredit Democrats.","excerpt":"A Russian disinformation campaign is using doctored celebrity videos with AI-cloned voices to target US midterm elections, aiming to discredit Democratic candidates. Researchers attribute the operation to a Kremlin-backed group known as Matryoshka, or Storm-1679.","category":"Politics","area":"United States","publishedAt":"2026-09-16T13:05:28.687Z","sourceReportedAt":"2026-09-16T04:00:01.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-16T13:05:28.687Z","readTime":"4 min read","scores":{"trust":60,"critic":65,"hype":45,"notes":{"trust":"Central claims attributed to named researchers and a professor, with some specific examples of doctored videos.","critic":"Clear separation of fact from comment, with specific examples and attribution for claims.","hype":"Headline promises a Russian campaign, which the body details with specific examples and researcher attribution."}},"tags":["#Disinformation","#Elections","#Russia","#Deepfakes","#Midterms","#AI"],"entities":["Russia","US midterm elections","Matryoshka","Operation Overload","Storm-1679","Democrats","X","Bluesky","CNN"],"body":[{"type":"key_takeaways","items":["A Russian disinformation campaign is using doctored celebrity videos with AI-cloned voices to target US midterm elections.","The videos feature fake audio overlaid on real footage, often branded with unauthorized news logos, and specifically target Democratic candidates.","Researchers attribute the campaign to a Kremlin-backed operation known as Matryoshka, Operation Overload, or Storm-1679.","Some social media platforms have taken action against accounts posting the content, while others have not yet responded."]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"A Russian disinformation campaign is using doctored celebrity videos to influence the US midterm elections, according to researchers. The campaign employs artificial intelligence to clone the voices of actors, overlaying fake audio onto real footage. These manipulated videos are often branded with unauthorized news logos and are designed to spread false claims targeting specific Democratic candidates."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The operation is attributed to a Kremlin-backed group known by researchers as Matryoshka, Operation Overload, or Storm-1679. This group has a history of seeding social media with manipulated videos, sometimes using bot networks, to spread false narratives and erode public trust. The current campaign features actors such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Julia Roberts, Emma Caulfield, Christopher Lloyd, and Ed Begley Jr. The videos push false claims, including that Democrats are conspiring with Big Pharma or promoting sinister agendas."},{"type":"heading","text":"Disagreement on platform responses"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"MS NOW reported that X, formerly Twitter, had not immediately returned a request for comment regarding its response to the videos, while Bluesky had suspended seven accounts posting the content. Other reports did not specify which platforms had taken action or not."},{"type":"heading","text":"Omissions"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"None of the right-rated digests mention the specific Democrats being targeted by the campaign, nor do they detail the specific false claims made against them. The unrated digests also do not name specific Democratic candidates targeted or the false claims made against them."}],"basedOn":[{"sourceName":"La Voce di New York","url":"https://lavocedinewyork.com/en/news/2026/09/16/new-russian-disinformation-campaign-targets-u-s-midterms","headline":"New Russian Disinformation Campaign Targets U.S. Midterms","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-16T12:24:52.203Z"},{"sourceName":"15min.lt","url":"https://15min.lt/naujiena/aktualu/pasaulis/jav-kadencijos-vidurio-rinkimai-tapo-rusijos-dezinformacijos-kampanijos-taikiniu-57-2765118","headline":"US Midterm Elections Targeted by Russian Disinformation Campaign","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-16T10:05:04.000Z"},{"sourceName":"jurnalul.ro","url":"https://jurnalul.ro/stiri/externe/razboi-invizibil-rusia-alegeri-sua-deepfake-vedete-stiri-contrafacute-atacuri-contra-democratilor-1044282.html","headline":"Russia's Invisible War for U.S. Elections. 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Deepfake Hollywood Stars, Used by Russia Against the Democrats","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-15T07:19:05.171Z"},{"sourceName":"Radio France Internationale","url":"https://rfi.fr/en/international-news/20260915-russian-disinformation-campaign-sets-sights-on-us-midterms","headline":"Russian disinformation campaign sets sights on US midterms","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-15T00:28:11.000Z"},{"sourceName":"Free Malaysia Today News","url":"https://freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/09/15/russian-disinformation-campaign-sets-sights-on-us-midterms","headline":"Russian disinformation campaign sets sights on US midterms","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-14T21:42:28.000Z"},{"sourceName":"France24","url":"https://france24.com/en/live-news/20260914-russian-disinformation-campaign-sets-sights-on-us-midterms","headline":"Russian disinformation campaign sets sights on US midterms","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-14T20:29:10.000Z"},{"sourceName":"Le Monde","url":"https://lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/09/15/russian-disinformation-campaign-sets-sights-on-us-midterms_6757543_4.html","headline":"Russian disinformation campaign sets lights on US midterms","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-14T20:27:51.000Z"},{"sourceName":"Barron's","url":"https://barrons.com/news/russian-disinformation-campaign-sets-sights-on-us-midterms-12d97394","headline":"Russian Disinformation Campaign Sets Sights On US Midterms","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-14T20:27:51.000Z"},{"sourceName":"rtl.lu","url":"https://today.rtl.lu/news/world/russian-disinformation-campaign-sets-sights-on-us-midterms-1658418913","headline":"Russian disinformation campaign sets sights on US midterms","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-14T20:27:51.000Z"},{"sourceName":"theins.press","url":"https://theins.press/en/news/297122","headline":"Russia's Matryoshka bots impersonate celebrities in new campaign targeting U.S. midterms with calls not to vote for “pedophile Democrats”","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-14T15:03:28.000Z"},{"sourceName":"MS NOW","url":"https://ms.now/news/russia-election-influencing-campaign-targeting-democrats","headline":"A Russian disinformation campaign is doctoring celebrity videos to meddle in the midterms","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-11T19:55:06.000Z"},{"sourceName":"Mother Jones","url":"https://motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/how-russia-won-donald-trump-vladimir-putin-midterm-elections","headline":"Will Putin's decade-long war on US elections hit the midterms?","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-10T12:45:02.000Z"}],"analysis":{"distribution":{"percent":{"left":30,"centre":40,"right":30},"count":{"left":3,"centre":4,"right":3},"totalSources":17,"untracked":7,"rated":10,"observedAt":"2026-09-16T12:36:22.846Z"},"lifecycle":{"state":"developing","lastCheckedAt":"2026-09-16T15:15:26.442Z","closedAt":null,"checks":9,"changes":0,"reopened":false},"framing":{"left":["The left-rated reports focused on the specifics of the disinformation campaign, including the use of AI-cloned voices and fake audio. 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Barron's also mentioned that the videos spread on social media with hashtags such as \"#AllDemocratsAreCriminals\" and showed Hollywood actors chastising the Democratic Party in self-recorded statements branded with CNN's logo."],"comparison":""},"blindspot":null,"sourceFactualityDistribution":{"mixed":2,"high":8,"unknown":7},"ownershipDistribution":{"mediaConglomerate":2,"government":2,"independent":4,"corporation":2},"firstDatedReport":{"sourceName":"Mother Jones","url":"https://motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/how-russia-won-donald-trump-vladimir-putin-midterm-elections","publishedAt":"2026-09-10T12:45:02.000Z"},"countries":[{"country":"New York, New York, United States","count":3},{"country":"Paris, Île-de-France, France","count":2},{"country":"Issy-les-Moulineaux, Hauts-de-Seine, Île-de-France, France","count":2},{"country":"France","count":2},{"country":"San Francisco, San Francisco County, California, United States","count":1},{"country":"Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, 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