Operation Overload: a growing disinformation threat targeting the US election
With Reset Tech, confirmed the operation is Russia-based and had shifted focus to the US election, targeting Kamala Harris.
Executive summary
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CheckFirst and Reset Tech extended their investigation into Operation Overload by obtaining new email datasets and residential IP address data, which they used to attribute the campaign's coordinated disinformation emails to Russian-based operators with greater confidence.
Between January and September 2024, the operation sent roughly 71,000 emails to fact-checkers and newsrooms, reaching close to 250 organizations worldwide — a twelvefold increase over volumes observed in June — with activity peaking around the Paris Olympics, including an 'Olympics Has Fallen' narrative built on an AI-generated fake documentary. From mid-August 2024 the campaign's focus shifted toward the US election, deploying narratives targeting Vice President Kamala Harris.
The report describes an operation increasingly relying on fake TikTok videos, AI-generated content, counterfeit newspaper front pages, and QR codes to lend fabricated material an appearance of credibility, and concludes that fact-checkers and newsrooms need heightened vigilance as the campaign's scale and geographic targeting continue to expand.
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