Mumbai/New York, Oct. 20 -- A Mumbai resident who runs a comedy page on Instagram was among dozens of people paid to circulate street-interview videos promoting Democrat Haley Stevens in the run-up to Michigan's US Senate primary, The New York Times has reported.

The clips featured people presented as ordinary Michigan residents talking about the cost of living and voicing support for Stevens. At least 36 such videos appeared on X, Facebook, Instagram and Threads and were watched millions of times.

Two groups that track online disinformation found that most of the accounts sharing them were operated from India, not Michigan. Account holders were paid between USD 1 and USD 5 for every 1,000 views. None of the posts disclosed that anyone ...