Transcript of US election: Russian network spreads fake news reports | BBC Verify

This slick video looks like it was produced by BBC News. It even quotes Balancat, an investigative group, as a source, but it's fake, and it has nothing to do with either the BBC or Balancat. It's one of hundreds of made-up news reports produced and circulated by a Russian disinformation network since January. Bbc Verify, together with Fact Checkers from Logically, a UK-based tech company that uses artificial intelligence to detect disinformation, has identified over 300 fake videos impersonating over 50 international media organizations. It also appears that the network has been ramping up production in the run up to the US election by posting videos almost every day. The fakes have several common features. They pose as real well-known news outlets like the BBC. I'd use similar production styles, fonts, logos, and graphics. In fact, the videos are so realistic it can be hard to detect if they're real or fake, even for specialists. This operation has been active for over two years, and initially, it's fake videos, like this one blaming Ukraine for a deadly strike at a railway station, aim to undermine Western support for Ukraine. All the videos we have seen so far have been promoting pro-Kremlin narratives.

Often, these include false claims about the Democrats and Vice President Harris. Others appear to be seeking to sow division by arguing the November vote will be rigged or by depicting the US as a country on the brink of collapse. Researchers from Check First, a Finnish analytics company who's independently investigated who navigated the network say they have found evidence confirming the videos come from Russia.

So we can link the operation to Russia thanks to some assets that we know were produced by a Russian company, a company registered in the country.

But it is unclear who exactly is running this operation. Unusually, the accounts are actively seeking out journalists and asking them to fact-check their own content. They have been sending me and my colleagues emails, private messages on X, and tagging us in posts asking us to fact-check their fake reports. Check First has found that the operation had sent an estimated total of 71,000 emails to 245 addresses belonging to researchers, media, and fact checkers between January and September this year. They believe the aim is to overwhelm fact checkers and newsrooms with bogus claims. Thomas Reed, an expert specializing in disinformation, says Russian trolls also seek exposure, which they count as a measure of success.

If prominent media organizations, prominent prominent intelligence agencies expose their work, then they can brag to their funders, to the Russian government, that they are seen as a serious threat that deserves exposure.

This operation so far has failed to generate genuine large-scale engagement from social media users. Its activity on X appears to be largely driven by inauthentic or suspect accounts. But that doesn't stop the people behind the operation. Techfirm, Logically, told us that visual network analysis shows a small number of active who spam Western media and fact checkers with videos. The coordinated activity shows hallmarks of inauthentic behavior.