False allegations flood social media

Videos accused Democratic Senate candidates of sexual misconduct and abuse, gaining millions of views. The claims targeted Rep. James Talarico in Texas, Sherrod Brown in Ohio and Troy Jackson in Maine.

Russia behind the campaign

Researchers attributed the false claims to Storm-1516, a Russian influence campaign that also distributed false narratives during the 2024 presidential election. The operation appears designed to boost Republicans.

Storm-1516's 2024 targets

In 2024, the campaign claimed voters were committing election fraud and targeted former Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, with false allegations.

How the operation works

Storm-1516 uses a rotating cast of Russian and non-Russian influencers to promote false claims. Some knowingly participate while others are unaware of who is behind the content they spread.

“They're basically buying an audience for a specific narrative.”

AI replaces actors

Since 2024, Storm-1516's tactics have evolved. The campaign previously used actors to read scripts with false statements. Today, Storm-1516 uses artificial intelligence to create deepfakes.

Talarico targeted with AI video

An X account shared an AI-generated video of someone claiming to be former student Zyon Lewis accusing Talarico of sexual misconduct.PolitiFact rated the claim Pants on Fire.

Brown's news report altered

Storm-1516 altered a real October twenty-first report from Cleveland nineteen News about Ohio's gubernatorial race. The manipulated video falsely claimed four of Brown's former staff members accused him of abuse.

Brown's staff deny allegations

Sophia Egar, one of Brown's former staff members named in the video, told PolitiFact the allegations were false. Haya Akbik, another woman featured, told the Associated Press the claims were completely made up.

“During my internship in Senator Brown's office in 2019, I was treated with nothing but respect and professionalism.”

Jackson's water bottle incident weaponised

Storm-1516 altered a real WABI-TV news report about Jackson having outbursts as Maine Senate President, including throwing a water bottle. The manipulated video edited it to sound as though Jackson threatened staffers with an axe.

Russia's Ukraine interest

Darren Linvill, a Clemson University professor tracking Storm-1516, said Russia's most important issue is the war in Ukraine.

“Russia's most important issue, foreign or domestic, is the war in Ukraine.”

Engagement lower but concentrated

Engagement with Storm-1516's posts has declined in 2026 compared with 2024. On October twenty-eighth, fewer than seven thousand people mentioned Troy Jackson on X, but twenty-five percent of those were discussing Russia's narrative.

“As a percentage of the conversation, it's huge.”

How to spot manipulated videos

Experts warn people not to share videos they haven't watched. For apparent newscasts, check news outlets' websites. Look for unusual facial movements, lip movements that don't match speech, unnatural speech patterns and unusual eye blinking.

“Many of these Russian fakes look fake when you actually watch them.”