Baseless Hit-and-Run Claim about Kamala Harris Circulates Widely from Mysterious Website

A baseless story claiming that Kamala Harris was involved in a 2011 hit-and-run incident has gone viral on social media. The article, posted on a mysterious website called KBSF-San Francisco News, alleges that Harris, then Attorney General of California, hit a 13-year-old girl with her car, leaving her paralysed. The story features an interview with a woman identified as "Alicia Brown," claiming to be the victim, though no evidence is provided to support these allegations. The article has been shared widely, particularly by right-leaning social media users, amassing millions of views despite its dubious origin. BBC Verify has found several elements of the story to be false or manipulated. For instance, the website where the story was posted was only created on August 20, 2024, suggesting a deliberate attempt to spread misinformation. Moreover, no record of a media outlet named KBSF-San Francisco News exists, and the site has since been taken down.

The images used in the story, such as a smashed windscreen and X-rays supposedly showing injuries, were found to have been taken from unrelated sources. One image of a crash scene was traced back to a 2018 accident in Guam, while the X-rays had been used in medical research articles published years earlier. Despite the efforts to authenticate the claims, experts like Professor Hany Farid have determined that the video of "Alicia Brown" is likely a poorly staged fake, rather than an AI-generated deepfake. This case follows a pattern of fake news stories targeting high-profile individuals and political figures, often published by websites that appear suddenly and then disappear just as quickly. Similar tactics have been used in previous campaigns to spread disinformation, mixing genuine news stories with fabricated claims designed to mislead the public.

John Mark Dougan, a former Florida police officer now based in Moscow, has been linked to several fake news operations. Although Dougan denied involvement in this particular case, he is known to have run a network of deceptive websites in the past, which feature falsified news stories aimed at U.S. audiences. The current wave of misinformation, including this story about Kamala Harris, continues to exploit social media platforms, where disinformation can rapidly gain traction before being debunked. Despite the lack of credible evidence and the implausibility of the claims, the story has already caused significant damage, with millions of views and numerous reposts on various platforms. Authorities in San Francisco and the Harris campaign have yet to issue formal statements, but fact-checking teams are urging the public to approach such claims with caution and verify sources before sharing. ⚡ Image Credit: GettyImages