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Politics · Europe

Researchers link AI face swaps to Storm-1516 election videos

Darren Linvill said Storm-1516 videos use real actors whose faces are altered with AI to make them appear to be other people. Alethea found that one of two fake videos attracted roughly 857,000 views in 24 hours.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 3 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 1 of 3 outletsHow it's made

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3 outletsLatest reporting 3 min read
Coverage: Too few ratedL 0 · C 2 · R 0 · 1 unrated
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What happened

Key facts

  • Linvill said a characteristic of Storm-1516 videos is the use of real actors whose faces are changed with AI to make them look like someone else (per wamc.org).
  • Researchers said the three X accounts had previously amplified other narratives attributed to Storm-1516 (per wamc.org).
  • Alethea, a threat intelligence company, reported that one of two fake videos received roughly 857,000 views within 24 hours (per wamc.org).

The brief

A video associated with Storm-1516 drew roughly 857,000 views within 24 hours, according to an analysis by Alethea, a threat intelligence company. Darren Linvill, co-director of Clemson University's Media Forensics Hub, described a technique he said is characteristic of Storm-1516 videos: real actors appear with AI-altered faces that make them look like other people.

The excerpt does not identify the video’s subject or name the people whose faces appear in it. It refers to two fake videos and reports the view total for one of them. The figure measures views, not unique viewers, and the excerpt does not provide a second video’s view count. About 12 hours after one video appeared, three X accounts with large followings shared it in new posts.

Researchers said those accounts had previously amplified other narratives attributed to Storm-1516. The account does not identify the three profiles or describe their owners, so the reported connection rests on the researchers’ characterization of their earlier activity.

Linvill, who has tracked foreign propaganda campaigns for years, compared the dissemination method to companies paying influencers to promote products. He said Russians use false information and fabricated stories in a similar way. His comments describe his assessment of the method; the excerpt does not provide information about payments tied to these posts.

Linvill also said Ukraine remains Russia’s main issue. The excerpt does not specify how he connects that assessment to the two videos, or identify their messages, intended audiences or effect.

It therefore offers his view of Russia’s priorities alongside details about the videos’ format and online spread, rather than a documented explanation of why these particular posts appeared. Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the ranking member on the House intelligence committee, called the environment “a carnival out there” when speaking to reporters that week.

The excerpt does not elaborate on what Himes meant by the remark. It closes with Linvill saying, “It is hard to persuade anybody of anything, ever.”

Why it matters

  • The reported AI face alteration can make real actors appear to be other people, complicating how viewers assess video identity.
  • Alethea's analysis counted roughly 857,000 views for one video in 24 hours, showing the reported scale of its reach.
  • Three large-following X accounts reposted one video about 12 hours after it appeared; researchers linked their prior amplification activity to narratives attributed to Storm-1516.

What to watch next

  • Whether researchers identify the three X accounts that shared the video and explain the basis for linking their earlier posts to narratives attributed to Storm-1516.
  • Whether Alethea or researchers provide comparable reach figures for the second fake video.
  • Whether Linvill or other named figures explain how the two videos relate to the Ukraine priority Linvill described.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
3 source articles · 3 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Too few rated· 2 Center · 1 unrated
Where the outlets are based: Unknown 67% · US/Canada 33%
Outlet political mix
Too few rated
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Center
Right
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Where the outlets covering this story are based.
3 unique outletsDominant coverage: US/Canada
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Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 730, restricting certain manipulated political videos near an election.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. The Digital Services Act entered into force on November 16, 2022, and required very large online platforms to assess and mitigate systemic risks, including risks to civic discourse and elections.
    Background · from our historical context
  3. Its main obligations for those platforms took effect on August 25, 2023.
    Background · from our historical context
  4. In a November 2023 report, Microsoft said the operation used fabricated websites and videos to spread claims about Ukraine and Western governments.
    Background · from our historical context
  5. A fake robocall using an AI-generated voice impersonated U.S. President Joe Biden ahead of New Hampshire’s primary.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  6. The Federal Communications Commission ruled that AI-generated voices in robocalls are covered by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3

How we got here

Before the 2024 European Parliament elections, Microsoft’s threat-intelligence team had described Storm-1516 as a Russian influence operation active since 2023. In a November 2023 report, Microsoft said the operation used fabricated websites and videos to spread claims about Ukraine and Western governments.

Storm-1516 sits within a longer history of online influence operations targeting elections. On February 16, 2018, a U.S. federal grand jury indicted the Internet Research Agency and Russian nationals over an alleged effort to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election; the indictment described fake social-media personas and divisive political content. The U.S.

Original sources

1 of 3 articles · US/Canada · Show all

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