WASHINGTON – The Kremlin is turning to unwitting Americans and commercial public relations firms in Russia to spread disinformation about the U.S. presidential race, intelligence officials said Monday, detailing the latest efforts by U.S. adversaries to shape public opinion ahead of the 2024 elections.
The warning comes after a tumultuous some weeks in US policy that led Russia, Iran and China to review your advertising manual quickly. What has not changed, intelligence officials said, is their determination to seed the Internet with false and incendiary 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 come from other Americans or originate in the United States,” said an official from the Office of the Director. of National Intelligence, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, in accordance with rules established by the director’s office.
Russia continues to pose the biggest threat when it comes to election disinformation, officials said, although there are indications that Iran is expanding its efforts and China is proceeding cautiously when it comes to 2024.
Kremlin-linked groups are increasingly hiring marketing and communications companies located in Russia, both as a way to subcontract campaign creation work and as a way to cover their tracks, officials said during the briefing with journalists.
Two of these 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.
Misinformation can focus on candidates or votingor on issues that are already the subject of debate in the USA, such as immigrationcrime or the war in Gaza.
The ultimate goal, however, is to get Americans to spread Russian disinformation without questioning its origins. People are much more likely to trust and pass along information they believe comes from a national source, officials said. Fake websites designed to mimic US media outlets and AI-generated social media profiles are just two methods.
“Foreign influence actors are getting better and better at hiding their hands and convincing Americans to do so,” said the official, who spoke alongside officials from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security.
To an extent threatAuthorities tracking foreign disinformation say they have issued twice as many warnings to political candidates, government leaders, election offices and other targets of foreign groups so far in the 2024 election cycle than in the 2022 election cycle.
Authorities will not disclose how many warnings were issued or who received them, but said the significant increase reflects greater interest in the presidential race on the part of America’s adversaries, as well as improved government efforts to identify and warn about such threats.
Warnings are given so that targets can take steps to protect themselves and set the record straight if necessary.
Russia and other countries are also moving quickly to exploit some of the recent developments in the presidential race, 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 Donald Trump. President Kamala Harris.
After the attack on Trump, for example, Russian disinformation outlets quickly amplified claims that Democratic rhetoric led to the shooting, or even unfounded conspiracy theories that suggested Biden or the Ukrainian government orchestrated the attempt.
“These pro-Russian voices sought to link the assassination attempt to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine,” concluded the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, which tracks Russian disinformation.
Intelligence officials have determined in the past that Russian propaganda appeared aimed at supporting Trump, and officials said Monday they have not changed that assessment.
Erosion of support for Ukraine continues one of the main goals of Russian disinformationand Trump has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past and is seen as less supportive of NATO.
While China set up a broad disinformation campaign Before the recent elections in Taiwan, the country showed much more caution when it came to the US. Beijing could use disinformation to target congressional elections or other electoral contests in which a candidate has expressed strong views about China. But China is not expected to try to influence the presidential race, officials said Monday.
Iran, however, adopted a more aggressive stance. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said earlier this month that the Iranian government secretly supported the American protests about Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Iran-linked groups posed as activists online, emboldened protests and provided financial support to some protest groups, Haines said.
Iran opposes candidates who are likely to increase tension with Tehran, officials said. That description fits Trump, whose administration ended a nuclear deal with Iranreimposed sanctions and ordered the assassination of a top Iranian general.
