(OPINION) Russia, China and Iran are all recruiting Americans to spread propaganda advancing their interests ahead of the US presidential election, American intelligence officials said Monday.
Some US citizens have been knowingly helping foreign governments “seed, promote and add credibility to narratives that serve the foreign actors’ interests,” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said Monday in its latest update on election security. Others in the US have been duped into aiding the foreign actors, according to the report.
Although intelligence officials, who briefed reporters largely on condition of anonymity Monday, didn’t invoke the names of US presidential candidates, their comments made clear that they believe Russia is trying to help Republican nominee Donald Trump while Iran is seeking to undermine his candidacy.
Russian operatives, in particular, have undertaken efforts to build and use networks of US and Western “personalities” to create and disseminate Russian-friendly narratives,” according to the report.
“These actors are seeking to back a presidential candidate in addition to influencing congressional electoral outcomes, undermine public confidence in the electoral process and exacerbate sociopolitical division,” the intelligence office said. US intelligence agencies found that Russia sought to bolster Trump in 2016 and 2020.
On Iran, a US official said Iran wanted to influence the election as it did in 2020, after Trump scrapped an international nuclear deal with Tehran and imposed severe sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Russia, Iran and China have previously denied meddling in American elections.
The attempted assassination of former President Trump as well as President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw his candidacy, have become fodder in influence narratives seeking to undermine the electoral process, according to the officials.
They declined to comment when asked whether anyone associated with US presidential campaigns or any US lawmakers are knowingly helping Russia carry out influence operations.
Marketing, PR
Us intelligence agencies also have observed outsourcing by the Kremlin to marketing and public relations firms to shape public opinion in the US, said an official at the Office of the National Director of Intelligence.
Moscow is leveraging Russia-based influence-for-hire firms with skills to complicate tracing efforts back to their source as well as being more nimble and having fewer bureaucratic hurdles than government agencies, according to the US officials. The firms have created influence platforms that discreetly engage Americans and tailor content while masking Russia’s involvement.
Two Russian firms were sanctioned by the U.S. government earlier this year for creating fake websites designed to impersonate government media organizations in Europe. It wasn’t clear whether these firms were among those described by the officials.
Similarly, the Chinese government has collaborated with a China-based technology company to enhance its “covert influence operations, including to more efficiently create content that connects with local audiences,” the official said. They declined to name the company involved.
