Shadowy Indian Election Consultants Expand Reach to US Midterms

Indian consultants and content creators provide anonymous posts and accounts to influence voters on social media, operating across countries including Kenya and Suriname and now the United States. Rajan Kumar says he made posters and videos for William Ruto’s 2022 Kenyan presidential campaign for $7 a day, including by distorting opponents’ statements and spreading false claims. Ruto won and became Kenya’s fifth president. Ahead of the US midterms, researchers found Indian accounts posting videos in support of specific campaigns; posts backing Democrat Haley Stevens before Michigan’s Senate primary were reported, though she lost to Abdul El-Sayed.