AP Photo/LM Otero
An AI-generated video of a man falsely accusing Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico of sexual assault was the work of a covert group in Russia.
Earlier this week, a man identifying himself as Zyon Lewis posted a video on X/Twitter claiming he was assaulted by his middle school teacher in 2012. The teacher, Lewis continued, was Talarico.
Zyon Lewis, James Talarico’s former student drops a shocking video claiming Talarico sexually assaulted him in 2012 while Talarico was his teacher at Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio. Lewis was 12 at the time. TWELVE
pic.twitter.com/qeHWSRm1V6
— محمدعلي الايراني☫ (@MO21_ALI) October 21, 2026
According to a Thursday report from The New York Times, the video was completely fake and the Russians were behind it. The report read:
Several groups of researchers who track Russian disinformation operations attributed the claim to Storm-1516, a covert group that in 2024 peddled a similarly unfounded accusation against Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, who was the Democratic vice-presidential nominee.
The attack followed a flurry of Russian posts on social media in recent weeks and provided the latest indication that Moscow is once again targeting an American election with online influence operations. In recent weeks, Russia has ramped up those efforts, according to a U.S. official familiar with classified intelligence assessments on the matter.
The video first appeared Tuesday; and the account, the report noted, was recreated in September. It has since been suspended.
The Talarico video wasn’t the only instance of the Russians looking to spread disinformation ahead of the midterms. According to the Times, “most of the Russian content so far” has targeted Democratic candidates in races across the country. Still, a U.S. official told the Times that “intelligence assessments do not specify that Russia is explicitly seeking to harm one political party more than the other.”
The post Russian Group Was Behind AI-Generated Video of Man Falsely Accusing James Talarico of Sexual Assault: Report first appeared on Mediaite.
Russian Group Was Behind AI-Generated Video of Man Falsely Accusing James Talarico of Sexual Assault: Report 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-10-22 21:11:12 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
БЪЛГАРИЯ НОВИНИТЕ – ИНФОРМАЦИОННА АГЕНЦИЯ 2009-2026 2026-10-22 21:11:12