The US warns of efforts by foreign countries to incite election-related violence

2024-10-23 07:47:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Efforts by US adversaries to divide Americans and sow growing distrust in the November 5 US presidential election have begun to intensify, according to senior US intelligence officials who warn that some countries appear to are stepping up measures to incite election-related violence.

The latest estimate, released Tuesday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, comes just two weeks before American voters head to the polls on Nov. 5 to elect a new president and vote on a series of races and initiatives. nationwide and local.

"Foreign actors — particularly Russia, Iran, and China — remain determined to foment division among Americans and to undermine Americans' confidence in the US democratic system, in accordance with what they perceive to be in their best interest." says the assessment.

But the assessment warns that US intelligence agencies are "increasingly certain" that Russia is beginning to engage in plans "aimed at inciting violence". It is also estimated that Iran "may try to incite violence".

Concerns about the stages after the close of voting

Of particular concern is what appears to be an increasing focus on the hours, days and weeks after polls close, when state and local election officials begin counting and certifying results.

Opponents of the United States "will likely quickly create false narratives or amplify content that they believe will create confusion about the election, such as posting allegations of election irregularities," a US intelligence official said, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss the assessment in additional detail.

The official said Russia, Iran and China "may perceive a window of opportunity to promote disinformation or to incite or amplify protests and threats" from the time polls close until Jan. 6, when the election results certified by a joint session of Congress.

"Violent protests instigated or amplified from abroad, violence or physical threats against election workers or state and local officials could challenge the ability of state and local officials to carry out elements of the certification process and the Electoral College," the official said. "Especially if they prevent physical access to certain objects or places."

US intelligence officials have previously warned that Russia, and Iran in particular, have been particularly active, undertaking a series of influence operations targeting US voters, with these efforts likely to extend beyond the November 5 election.

Russia, they said, has tried to boost the chances of former President and current Republican candidate Donald Trump, while Iran has worked to damage Mr. Trump's re-election and boost the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.

China, according to US intelligence officials, has so far stayed out of the presidential race, focusing its efforts on congressional and state and local candidates perceived to be promoting policies harmful to Beijing's interests, including those expressing support for Taiwan.

Officials said Tuesday that new intelligence has raised concerns that Moscow in particular will try to incite violence once the polls close.

"We anticipate that Russia will be more aggressive in this period if the Vice President [Kamala Harris] wins the election," the intelligence official said.

"Russia would prefer the former president to win, and they would try to more aggressively undermine the presidency of the president-elect (if it were Ms. Harris).

Russia, China and Iran have rejected all previous US accusations of election meddling. Russia and Iran have not yet responded to VOA's requests for comment, but China on Tuesday again disputed the latest US intelligence findings.

"The presidential election is an internal matter for the United States," Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, told VOA in an email. "China has no such intention and will not interfere."

However, US intelligence officials point to what they describe as increasing examples of malicious intent, particularly from Russia and Iran.

Impact operations

Officials cited a case where Russian-linked actors were responsible for a post on social media platform X earlier this month that contained false allegations against Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz.

"There are several indicators of manipulation in this election cycle that are consistent with the signs of influence, efforts and tactics of Russian influence actors," the US intelligence official said.

In another case, U.S. officials said a Russian intelligence unit tried to recruit a person they believe was likely an American who was unaware of the efforts to organize protests.

They also cite actions taken just last month by multiple US agencies to combat a range of Russian influence efforts, including using fake websites and setting up shell companies to funnel $10 million into a US media company for promoted pro-Russian propaganda.

Also last month, the US offered rewards for identification and filed criminal charges against three Iranian hackers, all accused of seeking to undermine Mr Trump's re-election campaign.

"Even if these disinformation campaigns do not necessarily aim for violence, the tactics used to undermine trust in democratic institutions can lead to violence," said a senior official of the United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Anticipated Service Interruption

And although U.S. officials express confidence that safeguards are in place to prevent U.S. adversaries from attacking or hacking systems used to register and count votes, there is concern that they could target other U.S. infrastructure in the effort. to incite panic or violence.

"This is a real possibility," the CISA official said. "We will see cases of power outages at polling stations," the official said. "We can see the impact on transport systems. We will see a possible cyber attack against a local election office.”

State officials say they are prepared. "All states consider their election infrastructure and IT [information technology] systems a potential target for threats," said Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, president of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS). , during a call with reporters on Monday.

"Chief election officials across the United States have worked tirelessly and continuously to mitigate risks to our election systems and processes," Simon said./ Voa