CNN
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An American social media influencer said he was paid $100 by a pro-Kremlin propagandist to post a fake video of Haitian immigrants claiming to vote in the U.S. presidential election. The payment was one of several the man said he received from the propagandist – a registered Russian agent – ​​to post on social media in the run-up to the election.

The pro-Trump influencer, who uses the @AlphaFox78 handle on X, is an American man living in Massachusetts, CNN has learned. He agreed to speak to CNN about the reports on condition of anonymity.

The account, which has a history of posting right-wing memes in support of former President Donald Trump, was the first to post the now-debunked video that allegedly showed a Haitian immigrant claiming he would be in Georgia at least twice vote for Vice President Kamala. Harris.

The Georgian Foreign Minister said that everything in that video was fake, from the actors to the identity cards, and was produced and distributed by Russian influence actors.

In phone and text interviews with CNN over several days, the person behind the account, which has amassed more than 650,000 followers on X, said he posted the video without fact-checking the claims made in it.

“I have no idea where it came from or anything – I’m just the guy who shared it,” he said.

The man said Simeon Boikov, a Russian propaganda podcaster known online as “AussieCossack,” offered him $100 to post the video, which he agreed to. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to CNN that multiple payments had been sent from Boikov to the Massachusetts man.

Documents reviewed by CNN show Boikov is a registered foreign agent for Russia in Australia, where he works for Russian state media and writes and posts online in English and Russian.

Boikov, who recently received Russian citizenship and is seeking asylum at the Russian Consulate in Sydney, has a history of posting pro-Kremlin disinformation. A previous CNN investigation found that Boikov played a role in Russia’s disinformation campaigns, including those targeting the 2024 US presidential election.

But his exact role and where he sits within the disinformation network’s hierarchy remains elusive.

The previously unreported working relationship between AlphaFox and Boikov reveals yet another way Russia has attempted to inject disinformation into the 2024 presidential election. US and European intelligence sources previously told CNN that the Russian disinformation network produces staged propaganda videos that are later promoted by US social media influencers.

Just as a legitimate company would rely on a popular influencer to grow its revenue, Russian operatives are also targeting online metrics to leverage their highly engaged followers, according to Darren Linvill, a disinformation expert and co-director of the Media Forensics Hub. Clemson University. .

“There’s a reason why marketing companies and political campaigns both use social media influencers to promote their messages, they do it because it works,” Linvill told CNN. “The digital world has become the real world, and people trust social media influencers just like they trust their real friends.”

Boikov and a Russia-based associate did not respond to CNN requests for comment. AlphaFox said Boikov explicitly told him not to talk to CNN and has since blocked him on the Telegram platform.

The FBI did not comment on the payments. The Russian and Australian foreign ministries did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment.

On their social media accounts, both Boikov and AlphaFox have repeatedly shared stories that the U.S. intelligence community has identified as originating from a Russian disinformation network called “Storm-1516.”

AlphaFox said the staged Georgia video was not the first time he was paid to post content to his X account. On about 10 other occasions, Boikov paid him $100 to post memes and videos to the account, he said.

“It started with memes and it seemed harmless,” he told CNN.

When Boikov’s requests then shifted to posting election-related videos, such as the fake voter fraud footage in Georgia, “I didn’t think anything of it,” he said.

He insisted to CNN that he did not know Boikov worked for Russian state media.

AlphaFox sent CNN cropped screenshots saying he questioned Boikov about the authenticity of the video before posting it. But Boikov reportedly responded that he had no reason to doubt the authenticity of the video and that “a number of major accounts posted the video.”

“I let my guard down because it’s just sharing memes,” AlphaFox said, repeatedly justifying his messages to CNN by saying he didn’t realize what he was getting into.

After speaking to CNN, AlphaFox removed the post, which had generated more than 2.6 million views at the time.

He also admitted that he was paid to post content targeting Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff, claiming the couple tipped off embattled musician Sean “Diddy” Combs ahead of the Homeland Security raids. The US intelligence community has since determined that the claim came from a Russian influence operation.

AlphaFox said he was remorseful for sharing Russian disinformation, and adamant that he was the one who was misled.

“People need to be more vigilant when they share things,” he told CNN. “I never wanted to misinform anyone.”

AlphaFox believes he is merely “the guy who” shared a disinformation video. But that role is key to Russia’s plan to disrupt the U.S. election, said Linvill, the disinformation expert.

“Real people have become major vehicles of Russian disinformation. It’s not just about fake accounts anymore,” said Linvill. “Storm-1516 is successful because it capitalizes on the trust users have in influencers they have been following for years.”

While AlphaFox removed the fake video from Georgia the next day after it was viewed more than half a million times on X, various forms of the video are still being shared on social media platforms.

As Americans cast their votes in the presidential race, election officials like Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger have been forced to devote resources to combating disinformation like the video posted by AlphaFox.

“As Americans, we cannot allow our enemies to use lies to divide us and undermine our faith in our institutions — or each other,” Raffensperger said in a statement, calling the video “likely a production of Russian troll farms.” .

Despite the foreign influence efforts, AlphaFox continues to post on X, including about the 2024 election, and the posts continue to receive significant attention, some with millions of views.