(HorizonPost.com) – US intelligence officials warned in July that Russia planned to use social media to covertly attempt to influence public opinion in swing states during the November election while also seeking to undermine US support for Ukraine.
In a press call on July 9, an official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said the intelligence community has started seeing Russian operatives target specific groups of voters to “promote divisive narratives and denigrate specific politicians.”
According to the official, Moscow’s “whole-of-government approach” is designed to influence the upcoming election and sway public opinion in the United States. The official also hinted that, as in the 2020 election, former President Donald Trump remains the preferred candidate for the Kremlin.
The ODNI official told reporters on the call that Russia remained a “preeminent threat” while China has so far not sought to influence the presidential election. The official also said intelligence assessments have determined that Iran is seeking to sow chaos.
The official explained that the intelligence community had assessed that Beijing does not see much to gain in pushing either political party or attempting to influence the November election because it believes that both parties seek to contain China.
The ODNI official, who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity, did not provide any specific examples of Russia’s activities to influence the November election except to say that Moscow is using familiar tactics like amplifying specific influential American voices that promote Russia’s agenda.
Russia is also allegedly using artificial intelligence technology to mimic various American accents so that the Kremlin’s propaganda appears to come from American voices.
The ODNI also noted that Tehran is seeking to “stoke social divisions” while undermining US confidence in the elections.
Avril Haines, the Director of National Intelligence, said in a July 9 statement that Iran is covertly stoking anti-Israel protests in the United States.
The US Justice Department also announced in early July that it had disrupted nearly a thousand accounts on social media suspected of being run by Russian operatives to pose as Americans and promote Moscow’s propaganda on Ukraine.
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