US presidential election: Russia relying on unwitting Americans to spread disinformation about polls

Top US intelligence officials said on Monday (July 29) that Russia was relying on unwitting Americans and commercial public relations (PR) firms in Russiato spread disinformation about the upcoming presidential election.

As per a report by the news agency Associated Press on Tuesday, an official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence told reporters, "The American public should know that content that they read online — especially on social media — could be foreign propaganda, even if it appears to be coming from fellow Americans or originating in the United States."

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This official was speaking alongside officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security.

The threats of election disinformation

A tumultuous few weeks in American politics has forced Russia, Iran, and China to revise some of the details of their propaganda playbook, the Associated Press report said. During Monday's briefing, intelligence officials said what hadn't changed, was the determination of these countries to seed the internet with false and incendiary claims about American democracy to undermine faith in the election.

Officials told reportersthat the groups linked to the Kremlin were increasingly hiringmarketing and communications firms located within Russia to outsource some of the work of creating digital propaganda while also covering their tracks.

Two such firms were the subject of new USsanctions announced in March. These two firms created fake websites and social media profiles to spread Kremlin disinformation.

Get Americans to spread Russian disinformation

The report said that the disinformation could focus on the candidates or voting, or issues that were already the subject of debates in the US such as immigration, crime or the ongoing Gaza war.

The ultimate goal, however, was to get Americans to spread Russian disinformation without questioning its origin.People are far more likely to trust and repost information that they believe is coming from a domestic source, officials told reporters on Monday.

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Fake websites designed to mimic American news outlets and artificial intelligence (AI) generated social media profiles were just two methods.

“Foreign influence actors are getting better at hiding their hand, and getting Americans to do it,” theofficial from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said.

(With inputs from agencies)