The U.S. intelligence community is warning Americans that Russia is actively waging a disinformation campaign to undermine the outcome of the presidential election. These include a video purporting to show a poll worker tearing up mail-in ballots for Donald Trump in Bucks County, Pa., and a video claiming Haitian immigrants are voting illegally in Georgia.

“The IC considers that Russian influence actors produced a recent video that falsely depicted individuals claiming to be from Haiti and voting illegally in several counties in Georgia. This decision is based on information available to the IC and the previous allegations that Russian influence actors, including The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have already dismissed the video’s allegations as false. In a joint statement on Friday, he said:.

“Russian influencers also produced a video accusing an individual associated with the Democratic presidential ticket of accepting a bribe from a US artist,” the statement said. expressions were used.

The agencies warned that the videos, shared widely on social media, were part of a broader effort by Moscow to provoke Americans to question the integrity of the election and fuel division. It won’t end with Election Day, as experts in the intelligence community expect Russian actors to continue creating and publishing additional media content in the coming weeks and months.

D., professor of information and vice dean for academic affairs at the University of Michigan’s School of Information. “The federal government has tracked several efforts to frame disinformation and information designed to increase tensions from these foreign actors,” Cliff Lampe said. . “Platforms are trying to address foreign interference in the content of their sites, but this is a bit like a game of whack-a-mole. Additionally, since 2020 there has been a general decrease in appetite for divisive content across platforms, creating new openings due to foreign interference.”

Social Media Helps Spread Disinformation

Russia’s disinformation efforts tap into America’s deep divisions but also existing online echo chambers.

“Social media continues to significantly ferment division, hatred, and anger in U.S. politics and around the world. Misinformation has proliferated over the last two years or so, and the rapid pace of misinformation movements has led to dangerous consequences,” Tech warned. Industry analyst Susan Schreiner of C4 Trends.

“Many social media platforms have rolled back critical election integrity protections since the last US election,” Schreiner said. he said.

This is especially true for X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

“They have reversed policies that helped curb hate speech, misinformation, and threats of violence. Under Elon Musk’s leadership, misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories have been allowed to fester and grow because critical safeguards have been reduced, all of which are part of “free speech,” Schreiner suggested .

International actors from Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran now use the platforms as key components of their strategies to spread disinformation and create division, thus sowing doubt and undermining U.S. election integrity.

“These organizations also launder this misinformation through platforms such as Telegram and similar sites,” Schreiner continued. “As Election Day approaches, social media platforms appear ill-prepared to combat misinformation and false claims. Effectively dealing with these challenges is critical as we move towards the 2024 elections and beyond.”

More from Russia

The Kremlin is certainly not alone in spreading this disinformation; Because agents of China and Iran are also suspected of using social media to create discontent. But this is where there may be a real “enemy from within,” but it is not the elected officials we need to fear.

“I don’t blame foreign actors alone for the amount of divisive rhetoric in American politics right now, but they certainly contribute to and benefit from it,” Lampe added. “Unfortunately, the majority of divisive rhetoric still comes from local sources—not just from campaigns but from interest groups who see this as an all-or-nothing choice.”