Maine Senate candidate Troy Jackson, a Democrat, was the target of an outrageous video apparently fabricated by Russian operatives, according to the data analysis service NewsGuard.
In the video, which appears as a legitimate news report from Maine TV station WABI, an anchor alleges that Jackson threatened to kill “any insubordinate staffer” with an axe. Jackson is a fifth-generation logger challenging the Republican incumbent Susan Collins.
Several polls put Jackson ahead of Collins, and Republicans see her seat as crucial to maintaining control of the U.S. Senate.
Kim Petry, vice president of WABI, confirmed to NewsGuard that the video was fabricated and appears to use a synthetic voice. “It was not produced, aired, or authorized by WABI,” Petry told NewsGuard.
The firm said Jackson’s campaign didn’t respond to two emails seeking comment on the video. Mashable also contacted Jackson’s campaign via email but did not receive a reply as of publication.
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NewsGuard said the video used dubbed audio combined with real footage that originally appeared on WABI’s website in July 2026. In the original segment, Jackson was accused of having “angry outbursts” while serving as Maine Senate President between 2018 and 2024.
In July, CNN and the Washington Post reported that Jackson threw a water bottle during a 2021 meeting. One lawmaker said Jackson threw the bottle in her direction after she refused to vote for a bill he supported.
Jackson’s campaign said he threw the bottle but wasn’t targeting anyone. Though Jackson’s temper was well-known in Maine political circles, he did not threaten to attack staffers with an axe.
Based on its format and how it spread on X, NewsGuard said the manipulated video appears to be the product of a Russian influence operation known as Storm-1516. The group “routinely fabricates articles and videos that impersonate legitimate media outlets,” according to NewsGuard.
The firm said Storm-1516 is also apparently behind similar videos targeting James Talarico and Sherrod Brown, Democratic Senate candidates from Texas and Ohio, respectively. Both men were accused of sexual assault in the AI-altered videos and vehemently denied the allegations.
