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PoliticsQuiet 4d · day 12

Russian disinformation network deepfakes Mother Jones in 2026 midterm attack

Storm-1679, a Russian operation dubbed Matryoshka, circulated fake videos impersonating major US media outlets to interfere with US elections.

newest coverage 4d agosummary written 5d ago16 pieces4.8k likes & upvotes557 comments XMastodonNewswiresRedditBluesky

What to know

  • A Russian disinformation network called Storm-1679/Matryoshka deployed deepfaked videos and fake news reports impersonating Mother Jones, CNN, The New York Times, and other major US media outlets to interfere in the 2026 midterms.
  • The operation created fake celebrity videos attacking Democrats and false allegations targeting Democratic senatorial candidates, with fabricated coverage designed to appear from legitimate news sources.
  • The campaign was identified by @antibot4navalny, a group of activists tracking Russian influence operations, after a deepfaked Mother Jones video claiming the DNC paid CNN $259 million reached 155,000 views.
  • Researchers noted that impression counts were artificially inflated and the operation appears coordinated to benefit Donald Trump and the GOP in the midterms.

“This latest Matryoshka operation was first identified by @antibot4navalny, a small group of anonymous activists who track Russian influence operations.”

Mother Jones, News outlet reporting · Mother Jones ↗

Storm-1679 / Matryoshka Russian disinformation network@antibot4navalny Russian influence operation trackerMother JonesMother Jones News outletClara Jeffery Editor-in-chief of Mother Jones

Russian disinformation network deepfakes Mother Jones in 2026 midterm attack
motherjones.com

How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts

Peak 4 pieces in 3h at Sep 25, 5 AM; 16 pieces over 12 days (2 articles · 13 posts · 1 comment) Sep 18, 5 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — X 1Sep 18, 8 PM — quietSep 18, 11 PM — quietSep 19, 2 AM — quietSep 19, 5 AM — quietSep 19, 8 AM — quietSep 19, 11 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 19, 2 PM — quietSep 19, 5 PM — quietSep 19, 8 PM — quietSep 19, 11 PM — quietSep 20, 2 AM — quietSep 20, 5 AM — quietSep 20, 8 AM — quietSep 20, 11 AM — quietSep 20, 2 PM — quietSep 20, 5 PM — quietSep 20, 8 PM — quietSep 20, 11 PM — quietSep 21, 2 AM — quietSep 21, 5 AM — quietSep 21, 8 AM — quietSep 21, 11 AM — quietSep 21, 2 PM — quietSep 21, 5 PM — quietSep 21, 8 PM — quietSep 21, 11 PM — quietSep 22, 2 AM — quietSep 22, 5 AM — quietSep 22, 8 AM — quietSep 22, 11 AM — quietSep 22, 2 PM — quietSep 22, 5 PM — quietSep 22, 8 PM — quietSep 22, 11 PM — quietSep 23, 2 AM — quietSep 23, 5 AM — quietSep 23, 8 AM — quietSep 23, 11 AM — quietSep 23, 2 PM — quietSep 23, 5 PM — quietSep 23, 8 PM — quietSep 23, 11 PM — quietSep 24, 2 AM — quietSep 24, 5 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 24, 8 AM — quietSep 24, 11 AM — 2 pieces · 1 article · 1 post — Newswires 1, Mastodon 1Sep 24, 2 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 24, 5 PM — quietSep 24, 8 PM — quietSep 24, 11 PM — quietSep 25, 2 AM — quietSep 25, 5 AM — 4 pieces · 4 posts — Reddit 2, Bluesky 1, Mastodon 1Sep 25, 8 AM — 3 pieces · 3 posts — Mastodon 3Sep 25, 11 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Bluesky 1Sep 25, 2 PM — quietSep 25, 5 PM — quietSep 25, 8 PM — quietSep 25, 11 PM — quietSep 26, 2 AM — quietSep 26, 5 AM — 1 piece · 1 comment — Reddit 1Sep 26, 8 AM — quietSep 26, 11 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Mastodon 1Sep 26, 2 PM — quietSep 26, 5 PM — quietSep 26, 8 PM — quietSep 26, 11 PM — quietSep 27, 2 AM — quietSep 27, 5 AM — quietSep 27, 8 AM — quietSep 27, 11 AM — quietSep 27, 2 PM — quietSep 27, 5 PM — quietSep 27, 8 PM — quietSep 27, 11 PM — quietSep 28, 2 AM — quietSep 28, 5 AM — quietSep 28, 8 AM — quietSep 28, 11 AM — quietSep 28, 2 PM — quietSep 28, 5 PM — quietSep 28, 8 PM — quietSep 28, 11 PM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 11 AM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 5 AM — quietToday, 8 AM — quiet 1–2
Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22Sep 23Sep 24Sep 25Sep 26Sep 27Sep 28now · 10:53 AM ET
  1. 2

    Mother Jones amplifies report across social platforms

    Mother Jones and allied accounts begin distributing the report across Mastodon and Bluesky with tags emphasizing the false-news nature of the Russian operation.

    “Yup. We were deepfaked. But it's all part of a much bigger story about Russia's interference in our 2026 midterms to help the GOP.”
    — Mother Jones, News outlet on Bluesky · source
    • motherjones.com

      Putin’s trolls are again looking to help Donald Trump and the GOP.

      motherjones.comBluesky4d ago173▲view on Bluesky ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 6 posts in this stretch
    • KimPerales@toad.social

      A few days ago, an X user posted a purported MJ video:🚨DNC paid $259M to M Thompson *head of CNN, so the cable news NET would promote “gender transition among children” -noted CNN: aired “8,970 reports, programs, & shows: promote gender transition among minors." Within a day,🚨the video was viewed 155K times -a fake—part of a🚨Russian atk on the…

      KimPerales@toad.socialMastodon5d agoview on Mastodon ↗

    • People blaming Russia meanwhile Israel pushed this to war and it’s destroying its super power status no conspiracy no nothing it’s out in the open

      mastermindersr/technology4d agoview on r/technology ↗
    all of them →
  2. 1

    Mother Jones publishes exposé of Russian Matryoshka operation targeting 2026 midterms

    Mother Jones reports that the deepfaked video was part of a broader Russian disinformation campaign by Storm-1679/Matryoshka. The operation has created dozens of fake news reports impersonating major US outlets including The New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, Politico, PBS, and network news divisions, targeting Democratic candidates and spreading false allegations about media corruption.

    “The video was a fake—part of a Russian attack on the 2026 midterms that appears designed to help Donald Trump and the GOP.”
    — Mother Jones
    1. 2 outlets How a Russian attack on the midterms deepfaked Mother Jones

      first by Mastodon, 3d ago · also Mother Jones

  3. background

    Russian disinformation network launches deepfake campaign on social media — An X account called роман posted a deepfaked Mother Jones video claiming the DNC paid $259 million to CNN's Mark Thompson to promote gender transition among children. The video, falsely branded with Mother Jones branding and featuring editor Clara Jeffery, received 155,000 views within a day; a second posting by James Deans Hick account added another 50,000 views.

What people are saying 3 voices from 2 sites · best of 9 · verbatim