A smear campaign falsely accused Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz of sexually assaulting former male students during his time as a teacher. Wired’s investigation traced the campaign to Storm‑1516, a Russian-aligned propaganda network run by retired U.S. police officer John Dougan, now based in Moscow. The campaign used manipulated emails and a deepfake video, including one featuring former student “Matthew Metro,” who said the video wasn’t him. Right-wing commentators like Candace Owens and Jack Posobiec amplified the claims, though no credible evidence supported them