U.S. intelligence agencies said on October 22 that viral attacks against Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz were linked to Russian disinformation groups. Walz has been governor of Minnesota since 2019, after serving 12 years in Congress. He is a veteran of the army, having served in the National Guard for 24 years. Walz was also a high school teacher before entering politics.The false content that was spread, which includes baseless claims about Walz’s past as a teacher, was found to have several signs of manipulation.Analysts connected the disinformation to Russian operations aimed at undermining the Democratic ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.Private researchers had already flagged these videos as fake, with one particularly false claim involving a man impersonating a former student of Walz’s to accuse him of misconduct.Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Walz has been a vocal advocate for Ukraine in its fight against Russia, signing legislation barring state agencies from doing business with Russian and Belarusian companies.His state, Minnesota, is also home to weapons manufacturers that supply arms critical for Ukraine’s defense.Walz previously met President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2023 in a conversation organized by the National Governors Association. Walz stated that it was an honor to meet President Zelensky and to offer him his unwavering support. Intelligence officials report that Russia continues to actively run influence campaigns aimed at boosting former President and Republican nominee Donald Trump. According to the U.S. Intelligence officials report that Russia is still actively running influence campaigns to support Donald Trump, the former Republican nominee for President. According to John Kirby, the spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council, Russia’s meddling is “more sophisticated” now than ever before.
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