US intelligence officials say Russia is behind Walz’s deepfake video

A fake video denigrating vice presidential candidate Tim Walz was created by “Russian influence actors” trying to undermine Kamala Harris’ campaign, U.S. intelligence officials told Fox News.

The video circulating on social media purports to show former Mankato West High School student Matthew Metro claiming he was groped and kissed by Walz in 1997 when the governor of Minnesota was a teacher there. Except the claims are completely fabricated.

“Based on newly available intelligence analysis conducted over the weekend, Russian influence actors manufactured and amplified the content,” the officials told Fox News, adding that the video matched a pattern used by Russian actors in which the subject matter was “direct staged in front of the camera” I try to make it viral.

Those intelligence officials also noted that they expect Russia will likely be more aggressive in its efforts to sow division in the U.S. after the election if Harris wins, as Russia prefers that former President Trump win the race 2024 wins.

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The real Matthew Metro — who now lives in Hawaii — told The Washington Post that he never met Walz.

“It’s obviously not me: the teeth are different, the hair is different, the eyes are different, the nose is different,” he said. “I don’t know where they got that from.”

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Metro described the deepfake as “an invasion of my privacy and personal life.”

It has been viewed more than five million times so far, The Washington Post reported, citing engagement data from social media platform X.

Metro told the newspaper that he suspects his inactive accounts on Facebook and other social media platforms were searched for images and information about his background to create the deepfake.

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Both the Harris and Trump campaigns did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital on Tuesday.