WASHINGTON − U.S. intelligence officials report that Russia is behind a deceptive video that falsely accuses Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz of sexual misconduct, part of a broader campaign to interfere with the election in favor of Donald Trump. This interference is expected to continue even after November 5.

The video includes unfounded claims from Walz’s past as a high school teacher. Kremlin operatives have fabricated this content and amplified it on various online platforms, as stated by an official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).

“The intelligence community believes that Russian influence agents produced and disseminated content suggesting inappropriate behavior by the Democratic vice presidential candidate during his past career,” the ODNI official explained to reporters on Tuesday.

This announcement is part of an ongoing endeavor by election security officials from the ODNI, FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to inform the public about foreign election interference.

With the election less than two weeks away, officials indicate that Russia is the most active foreign entity working to undermine the election in favor of former President Trump.

The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information, mentioned that Iran is also engaged in promoting Vice President Kamala Harris while attempting to discredit Trump.

The ODNI has made a declassified memo available detailing its latest findings. Recently, a video was posted on X (formerly Twitter) featuring an individual claiming to be a former student making allegations against Walz.

However, right after its release, The Washington Post interviewed the real former student, who clarified that he was not the man in the video and that no such incident ever took place.

Nonetheless, the dubious claim gained traction quickly on many pro-Trump social media accounts, reaching millions of views on platforms like X, according to Wired magazine. This was traced back to a Russian-affiliated propaganda group known as Storm-1516, which is also linked to a fabricated video alleging that Harris was involved in a hit-and-run accident in San Francisco in 2011.

Officials alerted during the briefing that the efforts from Russia, Iran, China, and possibly other nations could intensify after the election concludes.

They referenced the briefing materials and other documents that labeled these three countries as being “focused on spreading divisive narratives to create divisions among Americans and erode trust in the U.S. democratic process.” Foreign entities are expected to keep pushing influence campaigns even through the inauguration, “casting doubt on the election’s results,” the briefing outlined.

“These actors likely see that shaking Americans’ confidence in the elections diminishes the credibility of our democracy, thus making the U.S. less effective in pursuing policies against their interests,” the document stated.

Recent intelligence also indicates that Russian entities are planning — and sometimes executing — a variety of influence operations tied to the election, “some of which are aimed at provoking violence and undermining the legitimacy of democracy, irrespective of the election outcome.”

“Others aim to amplify falsehoods and conspiracy theories — which could heighten post-election unrest in the U.S.,” added the ODNI briefing documents.

The briefers further highlighted that Iran, opposing Trump due to his stringent policies, “could attempt to incite violence similar to their actions following the last presidential election, where they are believed to have established a website containing threats against U.S. election officials,” the document indicated.