Russia is relying on Americans to spread election disinformation, officials say

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Kremlin is using uninformed Americans in Russia and commercial public relations firms to spread disinformation about the U.S. presidential election, a senior intelligence official said Monday, detailing the latest effort by America’s adversaries to shape public opinion ahead of the 2024 election.

This warning is Noisy a bit week In American politics, Russia, Iran, and China Revising the Propaganda Strategy What hasn’t changed, intelligence officials say, is their determination to spread false and inflammatory claims about American democracy on the internet in an attempt to undermine confidence in the election.

“Americans should be aware that anything they read online, particularly on social media, may be foreign propaganda even if it appears to be coming from an American citizen or even from within the United States,” said the official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity in accordance with Office of the Director of National Intelligence rules.

Officials say Russia remains the biggest threat when it comes to election disinformation, while there are signs that Iran is expanding its efforts and China is proceeding cautiously ahead of 2024.

Kremlin-linked groups are increasingly hiring marketing and communications firms based in Russia as a way to outsource the creation of their campaigns and cover their tracks, the officials told reporters in a briefing.

The two Russian companies were targeted in new U.S. sanctions announced in March. Officials said the two companies Created fake websites and social media profiles To spread Kremlin disinformation.

False information is candidate or voteor issues already being discussed in the United States, e.g. Immigrationcrime or The war in Gaza.

But the ultimate goal is to get Americans to spread Russian disinformation without questioning its origins: People are much more likely to trust and repost information that appears to come from a domestic source, the officials said. Fake websites Designed to mimic US news outlets and AI-generated social media profiles are just two of the ways this is done.

In some cases, American American Technology companies And the media has happily amplified and repeated it. The Kremlin’s message.

“Foreign influence actors are becoming increasingly adept at concealing their involvement and persuading Americans to carry it out,” said the official, who spoke alongside FBI and Department of Homeland Security officials.

Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I said last month He worries the U.S. may be more vulnerable to foreign disinformation this year than it was before the 2020 election, and said Monday that intelligence officials’ warnings show U.S. elections are “being targeted by bad actors around the world.”

“And disturbingly, this case highlights the extent to which foreign powers, particularly Russia, rely on both unwitting and conscious Americans to spread pro-foreign narratives within the United States,” Warner, a Virginia Democrat, said in a statement.

On some scale threatOfficials who track foreign disinformation say they have issued twice as many warnings to politicians, government leaders and campaign offices targeted by foreign groups so far during the 2024 election cycle as they did during the 2022 election cycle.

Officials have not said how many warnings have been issued or who received them. A big increase This reflects heightened attention to the election by America’s adversaries and increased government efforts to identify and warn of such threats.

The warning is issued to enable the subject to take steps to protect himself or herself and, if necessary, to set the record straight.

Russia and other countries have also quickly pivoted to try to exploit recent developments in the presidential election, including the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris.

For example, after the attack on Trump, Russian disinformation agencies quickly spread unfounded conspiracy theories that Democrats’ comments led to the shooting, as well as that Biden or the Ukrainian government had planned the attack.

“These pro-Russian voices sought to link the assassination attempt to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine,” concluded the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensics Lab, which tracks Russian disinformation.

Intelligence officials have previously determined that the Russian propaganda appears to have been engineered to help Trump, and officials said Monday they were not changing that assessment.

Support for Ukraine remains weak Russia’s main disinformation goalTrump has praised Russian President Putin in the past. Low support for NATO.

meanwhile China Mounted Widespread disinformation campaign Taiwan has adopted a much more cautious stance toward the United States ahead of recent elections. Beijing may target disinformation in parliamentary and other lower-level elections where candidates have expressed strong views about China. But China will not try to influence the presidential election, officials said Monday.

China’s ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, said on Monday that the Chinese government has no intention of interfering in U.S. politics.

But Iran has taken a more aggressive stance. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said earlier this month: Iran’s government secretly supports US protests Iran-linked groups pose as online activists in Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. protest Haynes said he has also provided financial support to some protest groups.

Iran opposes candidates who could increase tensions with Tehran, the officials said, and that is the case with the Trump administration. Ended the nuclear deal with Iranreimpose sanctions, The killing of Iran’s top general.

Messages left with Russian and Iranian government representatives were not immediately returned Monday.

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Associated Press writers Didi Tan and Tara Kopp contributed to this report.