Researchers find signs of AI video disinformation targeting Brown and Talarico

New clips likely came from Storm-1516, which targeted Harris and Walz

Associated Press reporter Ali Swenson reported that social media videos believed to contain AI manipulation and linked to Russia are misusing real people’s names and photographs to spread disinformation about two Democratic Senate candidates in the final stretch of the 2026 midterm elections. The targets are Sherrod Brown in Ohio and James Talarico in Texas. Brown is running against Republican Sen. Jon Husted, while Talarico is running against Republican Ken Paxton.

The video targeting Brown appears to include some AI manipulation and depicts a newscast. It includes a picture of Haya Akbik, who interned for Brown several years ago, and attributes claims to her. Akbik said any claims attributed to her in the clip were “completely made up.”

Akbik said: “It’s my name, it’s my reputation, making this allegation, and it’s just completely false.” She added: “And it harms the senator, someone else, in the process. So, it’s just messed up.”

Akbik said the video showed the importance of Congress regulating “AI slop on the internet.” She added, “This is so damaging.”

The video targeting Talarico is also believed to include AI manipulation. It is framed as a direct-to-camera confessional from a former student of Talarico. JT Ennis, a spokesperson for Talarico, said in a statement: “The most powerful people in the world know they can’t beat James Talarico with the truth, so they’re slandering him with AI deepfakes, foreign bots, and conspiracy theories to protect their broken, corrupt political system.”

X removed the initial posts that shared the videos and suspended the users involved for violating the platform’s rules. Copies could still be found online Tuesday, some with hundreds of shares. The continued circulation showed how difficult it can be to contain disinformation in the final days of an election.

The videos resemble clips from Storm-1516, a Russian network that targeted former Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, in 2024. The new videos bear similar hallmarks and are likely products of the same network, according to Clemson University professor and media forensics expert Darren Linvill. Linvill found that accounts sharing the recent material had also shared earlier Storm-1516 content.

Hany Farid, a Dartmouth College professor who studies artificial intelligence deepfakes, said his analyses showed the videos targeting Brown and Talarico were likely either generated or manipulated using the technology. Farid said the Brown video was a “fairly low-tech fake.” He said the Talarico video was likely generated by AI and “it is consistent with previous disinformation campaigns released close to Election Day.”

The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the past, it has denied interfering in U.S. elections. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which has publicly identified some videos as Russian disinformation in past election cycles, also did not respond to a request for comment.

The Associated Press described the videos as an example of foreign adversaries using a familiar playbook to influence voters deciding which party controls Congress the next year. It said AI could magnify that threat by fabricating damaging information that can sometimes appear very real.