Foreign efforts to undermine U.S. democracy will continue after Election Day, with covert influence campaigns focused on questioning the legitimacy of election results after voting ends, U.S. intelligence officials say. said on Monday.
Officials said in an update a month before the vote that opponents believe the possibility of a close presidential election and a battle for control of the Senate and House of Representatives presents an opportunity to undermine confidence in the integrity of the election. Ta.
Officials said they were concerned that foreign adversaries would amplify domestic concerns about voting fraud and fabricate their own claims. Donald J. Trump’s campaign made false claims about voter fraud after the 2020 vote, and he and his allies have already made similar claims ahead of this year’s vote, many of which Russian state media and pro-Kremlin groups also agree.
In its latest update on election threats, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said the intelligence community expects “foreign influencers to continue campaigning after voting ends, casting doubt on the legitimacy of the election results.” “I am doing so,” he said. “They will likely seize opportunities like this to use similar tactics after the election to undermine confidence in the integrity of our elections and the electoral process and further exacerbate divisions among Americans.”
Although Russia and Iran are on opposing sides, they are keeping an eye on the presidential election, with Russia supporting Trump and Iran supporting Vice President Kamala Harris.
Officials said various countries, including Russia, Cuba and China, were also trying to influence the parliamentary elections. Officials said China has already intervened in “dozens” of races, but not to the advantage of either side. Instead, China’s efforts focused on undermining candidates who had particularly expressed support for Taiwan.
Officials said Cuba was “almost certainly” considering using influence against certain candidates, but did not say whether any operations had taken place so far this year. Cuba has focused on the U.S. economic blockade, and in past elections has sought to influence efforts in Latin American society, both the Cuban diaspora and ordinary Spanish speakers.
Russia also does not focus on party affiliation in parliamentary elections, instead seeking to support candidates (many, but not all, Republicans) who are skeptical of aid to Ukraine. Officials say Iran is not focused on parliamentary elections, but has previously set up websites to intimidate election officials.
Intelligence officials have provided regular updates to journalists, local officials and lawmakers in recent months. They have been tracking Iranian and Russian efforts to influence presidential votes. Lawmakers said the final weeks of the election cycle and the days immediately following voting will be the most difficult as foreign powers step up efforts to sow dissent and undermine public confidence in the results. .
Administration officials recognized that it would be extremely difficult for foreign powers to hack into voting systems and change the tally, especially given the highly localized nature of voting in the United States. He said there was. But even if they can’t change the actual vote, they can spread a message that suggests the process was flawed.
Officials said they call these efforts “cognitive hacking.” Even if adversaries cannot change votes, they can spread false narratives that the system has been hacked and cannot be trusted.
The FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warned the public last month that foreign governments could try to spread false claims that ransomware attacks or other hacking disruptions could cause votes to go uncounted. A public service announcement was created for this purpose.
A CISA official said Monday that some of the tactics used by foreign adversaries to spread false stories could be repeated this fall.
On Sunday, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., told CBS News that a significant portion of the political content Americans see on social media comes from foreign sources, making it appear as though it’s coming from Americans. He said that the content was created in
“There’s a good chance that the content and comments you’re seeing are coming from Russia, Iran, China. I’d say it’s in the 20 to 30 percent range,” Kelly said. .
Officials declined to comment Monday on Mr. Kelly’s estimates, but said they often make foreign influence appear as if it comes from “fellow Americans.” One official said foreign adversaries are becoming increasingly adept at “hiding their hands” and masquerading as Americans.
Foreign powers, particularly Russia, have used Americans, knowingly or unknowingly, to spread disinformation.
Last month, the Justice Department accused Russia of secretly spending $10 million to spread pro-Kremlin messages through influential conservative commentators at Tenet Media, a media outlet founded just last year.
Russia is also turning to networks of Americans in Moscow and elsewhere to amplify the narratives generated by companies contracted by the Kremlin to produce fake videos that are spread through fake news outlets and unauthentic accounts on social media platforms. I’m aiming. Among them is John Mark Dorgan, a former Florida deputy sheriff who has been linked to a number of news organizations that use artificial intelligence tools to write stories.
Iran has adopted similar tactics. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies has identified at least 19 websites used by Iran to spread disinformation through what appear to be U.S. news outlets. Intelligence officials say Iran was trying to help Harris’ campaign, but the fake news outlets appeal to would-be voters from all political walks of life.
A media outlet calling itself Savannah Time recently published a lengthy article purporting to be written by Mike Rogers, a former Republican congressman from Michigan who is running for the Senate.
The article, which appeared to be written by an AI and based on an interview Mr. Rogers gave last month, suggested that although election fraud was widespread, Republicans would win by a large enough margin to make the issue an issue. was. Mr. Rogers’ campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this article.
Max Lesser, senior analyst at the Center for Cyber and Technology Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said increased awareness of foreign influence operations has blunted some of their impact, but attacks on the U.S. election system continue to grow. vulnerabilities remain, he said.
“America’s adversaries, particularly China, Russia, and Iran, seek to call into question the very value of the democratic process,” Lesser wrote in a recent report. “America’s most enduring asset is the strength of its democracy.”
