ST. PAUL 鈥� 鈥淢anufactured鈥� sexual assault allegations against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz were the product of Russian election interference and artificial intelligence tools, national intelligence officials said Monday, Oct. 21.
The allegations stemmed from posted on Oct. 14 by an anonymous account on X, formerly Twitter. The statement, which the post claimed was written by an ex-student of Gov. Tim Walz, accuses Walz of abuse in the mid-90s.
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The X account behind the original post, has now been deleted.
Later, a video posted by claimed to show a video testimonial of a former student named Matthew Metro detailing how he was groped after class by Walz. X later labeled the posts with this video as AI-manipulated.
No known evidence has surfaced supporting the claims.
In a video submitted to the Washington Post, the actual Metro says the viral X video is 鈥渙bviously鈥� not him. Metro says he has a different accent, teeth and nose than the manipulated video.
Metro has not made any public statements but told the Post that he was never taught by Walz and said he was frustrated his name was being used in these claims.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence and held a briefing on Monday, Oct. 21, addressing the allegations and pointing to international interference as the source.
鈥淭he IC assesses that Russian influence actors manufactured and amplified inauthentic content claiming illegal activity committed by the Democratic vice-presidential candidate during his earlier career,鈥� ODNI said in the election security update posted on its website. 鈥淭he IC reviewed electronic media associated with this effort and in doing so revealed several indicators of manipulation that are consistent with the influence efforts and tactics Russian actors have used this cycle.鈥�
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U.S. Intelligence also warned during Monday鈥檚 briefing that these efforts from foreign actors could increase in the days leading up to the election.
鈥淔oreign actors 鈥� particularly Russia, Iran, and China 鈥� remain intent on fanning divisive narratives to divide Americans and undermine Americans鈥� confidence in the U.S. democratic system consistent with what they perceive to be in their interests, even as their tactics continue to evolve,鈥� ODNI said in their brief. 鈥淭he IC expects foreign influence efforts will intensify in the lead-up to Election Day, especially through social media posts 鈥� some of which are likely to be AI-generated or (enhanced.)鈥�
鈥淧utin wants Donald Trump to win," Walz said on Wednesday, Oct. 23, when asked about the situation outside of a polling station in Ramsey County, according to pool reports from the Star Tribune.
Walz's team has not come out with an official statement on the situation.
The Trust Project
