US Warns of Foreign Efforts to Influence American Voters

Federal officials are warning ahead of the November midterm elections that Russia is working to raise doubts about the integrity of the US election, while China is interested in undermining US politicians it sees as threats to Beijing’s interests.

An unclassified intelligence tip recently obtained by Associated Press, says China is likely trying to influence selected elections to “hamper candidates perceived to be particularly adversaries of Beijing.” In the notice, sent to state and local officials in mid-September, intelligence officials said they believe Beijing sees less risk in meddling in midterm elections than in presidential elections.

While officials said they have not identified any credible threats to US election infrastructure, the latest intelligence warning comes amid a midterm campaign in which a growing number of candidates and voters are openly expressing their lack of confidence in the nation’s democratic processes.

Foreign countries have long sought to influence public opinion in the United States, perhaps most notably in a covert Russian campaign that used social media to sow discord on burning social issues ahead of the 2016 presidential election. been on high alert ever since, warning of efforts by Russia, China and Iran to meddle in American politics and shape the way voters think.

The US faces foreign influence campaigns as it continues to grapple with growing threats to poll workers nationwide and the systematic spread of falsehoods and misinformation about voter fraud. Former President Donald Trump and many of his supporters, including candidates running to oversee elections in multiple states, continue to lie about the 2020 presidential election, even as no evidence of significant voter fraud has emerged.

“The current environment is quite complex, possibly much more complex than it was in 2020,” Jen Easterly, director of cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security, told reporters on Monday.

Russia is amplifying divisive topics already circulating on the Internet, including questions about the integrity of the US election, but not creating its own content, said a senior FBI official who briefed reporters Monday on condition of anonymity under the terms established by the office.

In general, the official said, China’s efforts are more focused on shaping political prospects, including at the state and local levels, than on election results.

Still, China appears to have focused its attention on a “subset of candidates” in the US that it sees as opposed to its political interests, the official explained. In a high-profile case, the Justice Department in March charged Chinese agents with a plot to undermine the candidacy of a Chinese dissident and student leader of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests who was running for a seat in Congress. from New York.

Monday’s briefing came weeks after the DHS distributed a notice that described China’s approach during this midterm as different from the 2020 election, when the intelligence community assessed that China considered but made no efforts to influence in the presidential elections.

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