Russia, Iran and China intend to foment discord to divide the Americans before them US election on November 5a US intelligence official said on Tuesday, although it is unlikely that they will be able to rig the races on a scale that would affect the outcome of the presidential race.
The official told reporters at a briefing that foreign actors could consider physical threats and violence in the run-up to and after the election, and are very likely to conduct disinformation operations after the election to create uncertainty and undermine the election process.
“Foreign actors, particularly Russia, Iran and China, continue to seek to foment discord to divide Americans and undermine American confidence in the US democratic system. These activities are consistent with what these actors perceive to be in their interest, even as their tactics continue to evolve,” said an official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
“The intelligence community expects foreign influence efforts to increase in the run-up to Election Day, particularly through social media posts,” the official said.
Some of those posts were likely generated by artificial intelligence, said the official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.
As an example, the official pointed to a post on social media platform X earlier this month, generated by what he called Russian influence actors, that made an unverified allegation against the Democratic vice presidential candidate and governor of Minnesota Tim Waltz.
Intelligence agencies have determined that Russian-influenced actors created the content, the official said. A media review by the agencies showed “several indicators of manipulation” consistent with the actions of Russian actors, the official said.
