According to assessments by the U.S. intelligence community, independent researchers and CBS News analysis, Russian disinformation groups orchestrated unsubstantiated claims targeting Minnesota Gov. Tim Walls, falsely accusing the vice presidential candidate of sexually assaulting his students while a high school teacher.
At least four separate claims have circulated since early October, garnering millions of views on social media sites including X. Elon Musk. Darren Linville, associate director of Clemson University’s Center for Media Forensics, said at least two claims appear to be directly related to Storm-1516. A Kremlin-organized troll farm.
A Tuesday report From the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the intelligence community found that Russian disinformation groups were behind recent “discredited content created and disseminated alleging illegal activity” targeting Walls’ former career.
Claims
The initial claim surfaced on Oct. 5 during a Rumble livestream by an anonymous man who alleged Walls abused him from 2004 to 2005 while he was a student in the Future Leaders Exchange, or Flex, program in Minnesota. The person’s voice seems altered. Interviewed by John Mark Dugan, a former Florida sheriff’s deputy who lives in Russia Alleged relationships For disinformation campaigns.
Linville said this was the first indication that the claim was fabricated by Russian disinformation groups.
“There is [Dougan] The interview in this story is basically a neon sign, possibly connected to Russia. “Not only do I think Russia is behind these stories, but I think Russia wants us to know they are behind these stories,” he said.
Both the US State Department and FLEX told CBS News that there was “no record of any FLEX student from Kazakhstan in Mankato area schools from 2000 to 2020.” Mel Helling, director of communications for Mankato Area Public Schools, told CBS News that no allegations have been made. Newscard First reported the request.
When contacted by CBS News, Duggan said he had the victim’s U.S. visa and FLEX program certificate. CBS News reviewed the documents and found several discrepancies: the date of birth on the visa did not match the age claimed by the victim on the livestream and the certificate contained the wrong logo.
The claims were picked up by other accounts not linked to the Russian disinformation. On October 12, an X account was credited as Matt Wallace A rumble video He said, without evidence, that Walls may have behaved inappropriately with students during trips to China. The video has since been removed and the user has not responded to a request for comment.
A third claim was made on October 13, during the X account known as “Black Rebel”. Screenshots of the alleged emails In 1995, Walls was accused of misbehaving with a minor at a concert.
The alleged emails appear to have been manipulated. Notes had a comma in the date time stamp, which is not common in emails. “Black Insurrectionist” later deleted their account. Researchers have not linked this account to Russian disinformation.
Another claim went viral on Oct. 16 when someone posted a post claiming to be Matthew Metro, a former Mankato West High School student. A video In 1997 Walls accused her of sexually assaulting him.
however, The Washington Post And AFP A man named Matthew Metro attended the school, but the man in the video said he did not. The Post interviewed Metro, who said he had never met Walls.
Hani Farid, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley who specializes in manipulated media, He said He believes the video was not created using AI; Instead, he believes it is a “Cheap Fake” It involves a man pretending to be someone else.
A misinformation system
Linville said the video resembles the work of Storm-1516. Vice President Kamala Harris, A Assault incidentAccording to a Microsoft report.
“Suggestions about sexual deviance in various forms are a favorite theme of Storm-1516,” Linville said. “The campaign recently shifted from focusing primarily on the war in Ukraine to frequent targeting of the Harris-Wallace campaign.”
Linville said Walls’ versions of the allegations appear to be a Storm-1516 “storywashing campaign,” the process of making false claims appear credible. This includes the filing of claims by a person who claims to be aggrieved.
CBS News reached out to X and Rumble for comment, but did not hear back when it was released.
Ariel Delzer
