Ahead of Election Day, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI, and CISA have issued a joint statement, today, warning Americans to expect elevated foreign interference – and Russian actors particularly – with efforts aimed to undermine trust in the elections process itself, targeting some swing states specifically.
Russia Identified as Primary Threat in Election Disinformation Campaigns
It had been observed by intelligence that a recent spate of faster speeds in disinformation campaigns occurred recently by Russia. The joint statement indicates how these actors create fake videos and articles to deny the credibility of the election as well as sow societal division. It lists among the online false documents the one making the untrue statement that U.S. swing state officials conspired against voter fraud using ballot manipulation and cyber invasion. Another false video sprang up, based on claims from a supposed “whistleblower” in Arizona talking about voter fraud, which, of course, quickly emerged as false-and even Arizona’s Secretary of State rapidly knocked down such claims. It is a type of false information that can lead to violence or even threats against election officials.
Iran’s Influence Operations Remain Active
The agencies also issued warnings on Iranian attempts to interfere in the U.S. elections. Even though they have primarily been focused on voter sentiment against former President Trump, Iranian operatives have created fake media content much like in previous elections, trying to discourage voters or provoke violence. Iran’s actions, the U.S. officials say, are also motivated in part by a desire for revenge after the 2020 killing of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.
Public Urged to Get Government Sources for Election Information
As a result of the influence activities, CISA advised voters to get information about their elections only from trusted sources: their state and local election offices. The FBI and CISA are encouraging citizens to report suspicious activities related to elections to relevant hotlines or Election Crime Coordinators.
New Russian Disinformation Dispelled
Just before Election Day, U.S. intelligence agencies exposed new Russian disinformation efforts. Russian-linked media recently posted content falsely alleging that officials in all swing states are working to coordinate fraud schemes. Agencies also uncovered a Russian video depicting false election fraud in Georgia, which was fabricated by a troll farm. The Russian Embassy dismissed these claims as “baseless,” denying interference.
Increased Monitoring and Action Against Foreign Interference
Federal law enforcement in the U.S. remains vigilant about foreign influence campaigns, with Russia the greatest actor to date against election integrity, according to the agency. “Don’t assume that they are done on Election Day; most of these operations lead up to an election or in the days after, where they try to plant seeds of doubt about the electoral process,” the agency said. Iran and other foreign actors are also anticipated to continue their attempts, while tech firms and intelligence agencies work to counter such actions.
Federal officials highlighted the need to label false information and eliminate it so that citizens would have to report findings of suspicious content in order not to hurt this democracy.
