Foreign Adversaries Attempting to Influence U.S. Electorate

Foreign Adversaries Attempting to Influence U.S. Electorate

Will Coppola

Staff Writer

Russia, China, and Iran are reportedly engaging in covert actions to influence the outcome of the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election, according to a recent briefing from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNIS).  While each nation’s motives differ, all seek to undermine public confidence in the election.

The Associated Press reports that Russia is most actively engaged in spreading disinformation through fake social media accounts. These Russian ‘trolls’ seek to amplify disinformation about contentious issues in American politics. The accounts aim to post disinformation content, which unwitting Americans then spread. American intelligence officials believe that the main goal of these operations is to encourage support for former President Donald Trump, Russia’s preferred candidate in the election. The Kremlin believes that if President Trump is elected, he will withdraw U.S. support to Ukraine and NATO.

To combat Russian operations, social media companies such as TikTok, YouTube, and Meta have either banned or suspended accounts belonging to Russian state media. As reported by NBC, American officials consider Russian outlets, such as Russia Times and Sputnik, to be acting on behalf of the Russian government. Officials from TikTok say that these actions violate their ban on ‘deceptive behavior,’ and therefore, permanently disabled both accounts. YouTube has also banned several Russian media accounts accused of spreading disinformation on its platform. According to The Washington Post, the Russian government then fined Google, YouTube’s parent company, $20 Decillion; a symbolic sum greater than the GDP of the entire world. 

The Islamic Republic of Iran is also engaging in influence operations, focusing on hacking rather than social media campaigns. AP reports that Iran has been accused of hacking individuals connected to the Trump campaign and offering stolen information to the Democratic party and the Harris campaign. Tehran is hoping for a Harris victory, as Trump is a staunch critic of Iran, and as the president ordered the killing of prominent Iranian General, Qassem Soleimani.

Unlike Iran and Russia, China has no preferred candidate in the election. Instead, Beijing is playing both sides in an attempt to destabilize the election. The New York Times reports that accounts linked to the Chinese government have made posts pretending to be American college students, conservative commentators, and Spanish-speaking Americans. China is also concentrating its efforts on influencing Congressional elections, targeting lawmakers who oppose its interests, especially concerning Taiwan.

Recently, former President Trump accused the United Kingdom of election interference. According to Al Jazeera, Trump filed a legal complaint in response to a LinkedIn post by Britain’s ruling Labour Party. In the post, the Labour Party’s head of operations asked for volunteers to go to the United States and help elect Kamala Harris. Federal law prohibits foreign nationals and organizations from making any kind of contribution to a presidential campaign. Al Jazeera reports that the Labour Party denied any official involvement in the election and said that the posts were made by members acting independently of the party. 

American Intelligence officials believe that interference campaigns will likely continue after the election until the Presidential Inauguration in January. According to a recently declassified memorandum from the National Intelligence Council, Russia, China, and Iran all possess the capability to continue spreading disinformation and even incite violence. These nations conducted disinformation campaigns after the 2020 election, especially in the wake of the Capitol Insurrection. The NIC has identified Russia and Iran as being particularly willing to promote violent unrest after the election. In 2020, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an Iranian security service, was linked to a website containing death threats against elected officials. Additionally, alleged Iranian attempts to assassinate former President Trump could continue well after election day.

It is important to note that while several nations are pursuing influence campaigns, intelligence officials are confident that voting infrastructure remains secure. In an interview with AP, the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency confirmed that foreign nations will not be able to alter the results of the election.

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