Russia relies on unwitting Americans to spread election disinformation, US officials say
WASHINGTON: The Kremlin is turning to unsuspecting Americans and commercial PR firms in Russia to spread disinformation about the US presidential race, top intelligence officials said on Monday, detailing the latest efforts by US 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 details of their propaganda playbook. What hasn't changed, intelligence officials said, is the determination of these nations to seed the Internet with false and inflammatory claims about American democracy to undermine faith in the election.
“The American public should know that the content they read online — especially on social media — may be foreign propaganda, even if it appears to be from fellow Americans or originate in the United States,” an official from the director's office said. National Intelligence, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under rules set by the director's office.
Russia remains the biggest threat when it comes to election disinformation, authorities said, although there are signs that Iran is expanding its efforts and China is moving cautiously toward 2024.
Kremlin-linked groups are increasingly hiring marketing and communications firms based in Russia to outsource some of the work of creating digital propaganda while covering their tracks, officials said during a briefing with reporters.
Two such firms were the subject of new US sanctions announced in March. Authorities say the two Russian companies created fake websites and social media profiles to spread Kremlin disinformation.
Disinformation can focus on candidates or votes, or on topics already under debate in the US, such as immigration, crime or the war in Gaza.
But the ultimate goal is to get Americans to spread Russian disinformation without questioning its origin. People are much more likely to trust and forward information they believe is from a domestic source, officials said. Fake websites designed to mimic US news channels and AI-generated social media profiles are just two methods.
In some cases, Americans and American technology companies and media willingly spread and parrot the Kremlin's message.
“Foreign influence actors are getting better at hiding their hands and getting Americans to do it,” said the official, who spoke alongside officials from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.
Sen. Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said last month that he feared the U.S. could be more vulnerable to foreign disinformation this year than it was before the 2020 election. On Monday, he said warnings from intelligence officials showed that the U.S. elections are “targeted by bad actors around the world.”
“It also alarmingly highlights the extent to which foreign actors — and Russia in particular — rely on both unwitting and knowing Americans to promote foreign-linked narratives in the United States,” Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, said in a statement.
In one measure of the threat, officials monitoring foreign disinformation said they have issued twice as many warnings to political candidates, government officials, election officials and others targeted by foreign groups so far in the 2024 election cycle than in the 2022 cycle.
Officials would not disclose how many warnings were issued or who received them, but said the significant increase reflected heightened interest in the presidential race by US adversaries, as well as an increased government effort to identify and warn against these threats.
Warnings are issued so targets can take steps to protect themselves and set the record straight if necessary.
Russia and other countries are also moving quickly to take advantage of some of the recent events in the presidential race, including the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, as well as President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw from the race in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris.
For example, after the attack on Trump, 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 connect the assassination attempt with Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine,” concluded the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab, which tracks Russian disinformation.
Intelligence officials have found in the past that Russian propaganda appeared to be designed to support Trump, and officials said Monday that they have not changed that assessment.
Undermining support for Ukraine remains a major target 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 massive disinformation campaign ahead of Taiwan's recent election, the country has shown much more caution when it comes to the U.S. Beijing can use disinformation to target congressional races or other down-ballot contests in which a candidate has expressed strong anti-China views. But China is not expected to try to influence the presidential race, officials said Monday.
Xie Feng, China's ambassador to the US, said on Monday that his government had no intention of interfering in US politics.
Iran, however, took a more aggressive stance. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said earlier this month that the Iranian government is covertly supporting US protests against Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. Iran-linked groups are posing as online activists, supporting protests and providing financial support to some protest groups, Haines said.
Iran is opposing candidates who are likely to increase tensions with Tehran, officials said. That description fits Trump, whose administration ended the Iran nuclear deal, reimposed sanctions and ordered the killing of Iran's top general.
Messages left with representatives of the Russian and Iranian governments were not immediately returned Monday.
