Russian Disinformation Videos Smear Biden Ahead of U.S. Election
Many of the videos are trying to appeal to right-wing voters with fake messages about President Biden, experts say.
By Julian E. Barnes and Steven Lee Myers
I cover the origins and effects of false or misleading information (MISinformation), including lies that are spread deliberately to deceive (DISinformation). This includes errors, rumors, fraud, state propaganda and influence operations, both domestic and foreign.
I joined The Times in 1989 and have worked in New York, Washington, Moscow (twice), Baghdad, Beijing and Seoul, including four stints as bureau chief. I contributed to the Times coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic that won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2021. I am the author of a biography of Russia’s president, “The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin,” published in 2015.
All Times journalists are committed to upholding the standards of integrity outlined in our Ethical Journalism Handbook. I strive to be accurate and fair. When I make a mistake, I correct it. I do not accept gifts, money or favors from anyone who might figure into my reporting. I make every effort to understand issues from multiple angles and include those in my articles. I make a personal choice not to belong to any political party, and I do not make donations to politicians or even to charities that take positions on matters of public policy.
Email: myers@nytimes
Signal: +1-202-340-2571
Anonymous tips: nytimes.com/tips
Many of the videos are trying to appeal to right-wing voters with fake messages about President Biden, experts say.
By Julian E. Barnes and Steven Lee Myers
America’s adversaries have mounted online campaigns to amplify the social and political conflicts over Gaza flaring at universities, researchers say.
By Steven Lee Myers and Tiffany Hsu
The group intends to fight what its leader, Nina Jankowicz, and others have described as a coordinated campaign by conservatives and their allies to undermine researchers who study disinformation.
By Steven Lee Myers and Jim Rutenberg
Jackson Hinkle’s incendiary commentary has generated over two million new followers on X since October — a surge that some researchers say is aided by inauthentic accounts.
By Steven Lee Myers and Tiffany Hsu
China has adopted some of the same misinformation tactics that Russia used ahead of the 2016 election, researchers and government officials say.
By Tiffany Hsu and Steven Lee Myers
Russian narratives served to deflect attention from the failure to prevent the deadly attack while rallying the country behind the war in Ukraine.
By Tiffany Hsu and Steven Lee Myers
Conceding that the Islamic State alone carried out the assault on a Moscow concert hall would mean admitting to a security failure, and risk diluting Vladimir Putin’s narrative war with the West.
By Neil MacFarquhar and Ivan Nechepurenko
As the Ukraine war grinds on, the Kremlin has created increasingly complex fabrications online to discredit Ukraine’s leader and undercut aid. Some have a Hollywood-style plot twist.
By Steven Lee Myers
Their claims of censorship have successfully stymied the effort to filter election lies online.
By Jim Rutenberg and Steven Lee Myers
The fake news organizations, experts say, represent a technological leap in the Kremlin’s efforts to spread false and misleading narratives.
By Steven Lee Myers