Fake video of threat to Olympic Games appears to be from Russia, researchers say

A video spreading on X and Telegram of a man purporting to be a Hamas fighter threatening the Olympics in Paris is part of a Russian-linked disinformation campaign meant to disrupt the event, according to researchers at Microsoft.

A video spreading on X and Telegram of a man purporting to be a Hamas fighter threatening the Olympics in Paris is part of a Russian-linked disinformation campaign meant to disrupt the event, according to researchers at Microsoft.

On Telegram, Hamas official Izzat al-Risheq denied the video had come from Hamas, calling it a forgery. 

Researchers from Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center, who reviewed the video at NBC News’ request, said it appears to have come from a known Russian disinformation group, noting that details of a previous video about Ukraine match it. 

In the most recent video, a man with his face wrapped in a scarf stands against a gray wall and addresses the people of France and President Emmanuel Macron. He says in Arabic that “rivers of blood will flow through the streets of Paris” for what he said was France’s support of Israel in the war with Hamas and its welcoming Israeli athletes to the Olympic Games, holding up a severed mannequin’s head seemingly covered in red paint. 

With the opening ceremony just days away, French authorities have reassured the public that it has taken every possible security precaution, which includes deploying tens of thousands of security personnel. Microsoft had warned that Russia was looking to scare people away from the Games.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/misinformation/fake-video-threat-olympic-games-russia-rcna163186

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