Russia is relying on unwitting Americans to spread election information, US officials say
WASHINGTON: The Kremlin is turning to unsuspecting Americans and commercial PR firms in Russia to spread disinformation about the US presidential election, top intelligence officials said Monday, detailing the latest efforts by America's adversaries to shape public opinion ahead of the 2024 election.
The warning comes after a tumultuous few weeks in US politics that have forced Russia, Iran and China to revise some of the details of their propaganda playbook. What hasn't changed, intelligence officials said, is the determination of these nations to ensure that the Internet receives false and inflammatory claims about American democracy to undermine faith in the election.
“The American public should know that content they read online — especially on social media — may be foreign propaganda, even if it appears to come from other Americans or originate in the United States,” an official from the director's office said. of National Intelligence who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under rules established by the director's office.
Russia continues to pose the biggest threat when it comes to election information, officials said, while there are indications that Iran is stepping up its efforts and China is moving cautiously toward 2024.
Kremlin-linked groups are increasingly hiring marketing and communications firms in Russia to outsource some of the work of creating digital propaganda while covering their tracks, the officials said during the briefing with reporters.
Two such companies were subject to new US sanctions announced in March. Authorities say the two Russian companies created fake websites and social media profiles to spread Kremlin disinformation.
The disinformation may focus on the candidates or voting, or on issues that are already the subject of debates in the US, such as immigration, crime or the war in Gaza.
However, the ultimate goal is to get Americans to spread Russian disinformation without questioning its origin. People are much more likely to trust and repost information they believe comes from a domestic source, officials said. Fake websites designed to mimic US news outlets and AI-generated social media profiles are just two methods.
In some cases, Americans and American technology companies and media have willingly amplified and sought out the Kremlin's messages.
“Foreign actors of influence are getting better at hiding their hand and getting Americans to do it,” said the official, who spoke alongside officials from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.
Late. Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said last month that he worries the United States may be more vulnerable to foreign disinformation this year than it was before the 2020 election. On Monday, he said the warning from intelligence officials shows that the American election is “in the eye of bad actors all over the world.”
“It also underscores, alarmingly, the extent to which foreign actors — and Russia in particular — rely on both unwitting and sane Americans to promote foreign-oriented narratives in the United States,” Warner, a Virginia Democrat, said in a statement.
In one measure of the threat, officials who track foreign disinformation say they have issued twice as many warnings to political candidates, government leaders, election offices and others targeted by foreign groups so far in the 2024 election cycle as they did in the 2022 cycle.
Officials would not disclose how many alerts were issued or who received them, but said the significant increase reflects heightened interest in the presidential election by America's adversaries as well as improved efforts by the government to identify and warn of such threats.
The warnings are given so that the targets can take steps to protect themselves and set the protocol if necessary.
Russia and other countries are also moving quickly to take advantage of some of the latest developments in the presidential election, including the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump as well as President Joe Biden's decision to drop out of the race in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris.
After the attack on Trump, for example, Russian disinformation agencies quickly ramped up claims that Democratic rhetoric led to the shooting, or even baseless conspiracy theories suggesting that Biden or the Ukrainian government orchestrated the attempt.
“These pro-Russian voices sought to tie the assassination attempt to Russia's continued war against Ukraine,” concluded the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab, which tracks Russian disinformation.
Intelligence officials previously determined that Russian propaganda appeared designed to support Trump, and officials said Monday they have not changed that assessment.
Eroding support for Ukraine remains one of the main targets of Russian disinformation, and Trump has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past and is seen as less supportive of NATO.
While China launched a sprawling disinformation campaign ahead of Taiwan's recent election, the nation has shown much more caution when it comes to the United States: Beijing can use disinformation to target congressional races or other down-ballot contests where a candidate has expressed strong views about China. But China is not expected to try to influence the presidential election, the officials said on Monday.
Xie Feng, China's ambassador to the US, said on Monday that his government has no intention of interfering in US politics.
However, Iran has taken a more aggressive stance. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said earlier this month that the Iranian government has secretly supported American protests over Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. Groups linked to Iran have posed as online activists, encouraged protests and have provided financial support to some protest groups, Haines said.
Iran opposes candidates likely to increase tensions with Tehran, officials said. That description fits Trump, whose administration ended a nuclear deal with Iran, reimposed sanctions and ordered the killing of a top Iranian general.
Messages left with representatives of the Russian and Iranian governments were not immediately returned Monday.