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Russia relies on unwitting Americans to spread election disinformation, US officials say

WASHINGTON: The Kremlin is tapping unwitting Americans and commercial PR firms in Russia to spread disinformation about the US presidential race, senior intelligence officials said Monday, detailing the latest efforts by America's 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 rethink some details of their propaganda agenda. Intelligence officials said there has been no change in the determination of these countries to flood the Internet with false and inflammatory statements about American democracy to undermine faith in the election.

“The American public needs to be aware that the content they read online — especially on social media — may be foreign propaganda, even if it appears to come from fellow Americans or originate in the United States,” said a spokesperson for the director's office. of National Intelligence, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity in accordance with rules set by the director's office.

Authorities said Russia remains the biggest threat when it comes to election disinformation, while there are signs that Iran is expanding its efforts and China is treading carefully when it comes to 2024.

Kremlin-linked groups are increasingly hiring marketing and communications firms based in Russia to outsource some of their digital propaganda work and cover their tracks, officials said during a briefing with reporters.

Two such firms fell under new US sanctions announced in March. Authorities say two Russian companies created fake websites and social media profiles to spread Kremlin disinformation.

Disinformation can focus on candidates or voting, or on issues that are already the subject of debate in the US, such as immigration, crime or the war in Gaza.

However, the ultimate goal is to force Americans to spread Russian disinformation without doubting its origin. People are much more likely to trust and repost information they believe comes from inside sources, officials said. Fake websites created to imitate US news outlets and social media profiles created by artificial intelligence are just two methods.

In some cases, Americans and American technology companies and the media willingly amplify and repeat the Kremlin's messages.

“Foreign influence agencies are getting better at hiding their hand and getting Americans to do it,” said the official, who spoke alongside representatives of the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.

Senator Mark Warner, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said last month that he worries the US may be more vulnerable to foreign disinformation this year than it was before the 2020 election. On Monday, he said a warning from intelligence officials showed the US election was “at the center of attention of bad actors around the world”.

“It also, alarmingly, underscores the degree to which foreign actors — and Russia in particular — rely on both conscious and conscious Americans to promote foreign-aligned narratives in the United States,” said Warner, D-Virginia. .

One measure of the threat is that officials tracking foreign disinformation say they have issued twice as many warnings to political candidates, heads of government, election bodies and others targeted by foreign groups in the 2024 election cycle than in the 2022 cycle.

Officials did not disclose how many warnings were issued or who received them, but said the sharp uptick reflected increased interest in the presidential race by America's adversaries, as well as improved government efforts to identify and warn of such threats.

Warnings are issued so that targets can take steps to protect themselves and correct the record if necessary.

Russia and other countries are also moving quickly to exploit some recent developments in the presidential race, 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.

After the attack on Trump, for example, Russian disinformation agencies quickly spread claims that Democratic party rhetoric led to the shooting, or even baseless conspiracy theories suggesting that Biden or the Ukrainian government orchestrated the attack.

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

Intelligence officials have determined in the past that Russian propaganda appears to be designed to support Trump, and officials said Monday that they have not changed that assessment.

Declining 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 an extensive disinformation campaign ahead of Taiwan's recent election, the nation has been far more cautious when it comes to the US. Beijing can use disinformation to target congressional elections or other contests in which a candidate has expressed strong views on China. But China is not expected to try to influence the presidential race, officials said Monday.

Xie Feng, China's ambassador to the US, said Monday that his government has no intention of interfering in US politics.

Iran, however, took a more aggressive stance. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haynes said earlier this month that the Iranian government is secretly supporting American protests against Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. Iran-linked groups posed as online activists, encouraged protests and provided financial support to some protest groups, Haynes said.

Iran opposes candidates who could increase tensions with Tehran, officials said. That description fits Trump, whose administration ended the Iran nuclear deal, reimposed sanctions and ordered the assassination of a senior Iranian general.

Messages left with representatives of the Russian and Iranian governments were not immediately returned Monday.

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