Washington: US intelligence officials said Tuesday that Russia, China, and Iran are determined to spread polarizing stories to split Americans before the US election on November 5 and may think about inciting violence once voters cast their ballots.
Speaking to reporters about US election security, the officials warned that foreign actors are likely to use disinformation campaigns to sow doubt and sabotage the voting process, as well as to consider using physical threats and violence.
One official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said, “Foreign actors, particularly Russia, Iran and China, remain intent on fanning divisive narratives to divide Americans and undermine Americans’ confidence in the US democratic system. These activities are consistent with what these actors perceive to be in their interests, even as their tactics continue to evolve.”
Influencers, “especially from Russia, Iran, and China,” according to one official, have learned from past US elections and are more equipped to take advantage of chances to incite trouble.
According to the ODNI source, those players may be considering physical threats and violence in addition to the same kinds of tools they have been employing during the pre-election period, particularly information and cyber operations.
However, according to the officials, US intelligence has not observed cooperation between China, Iran, and Russia in its efforts to influence elections. Additionally, the voting mechanism is secure enough that foreign players cannot change the outcome, even though they might try to sabotage the process on Election Day to incite unrest.
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The ODNI official said, “Some foreign actors also have the capacity to stoke protests and take violent actions during this (post-election) period. In particular, Iran and Russia are probably willing to consider tactics that would contribute to such violence.”
The National Intelligence Council (NIC), the leading US intelligence analytical organization, issued a declassified memo following the briefing, warning that foreign agents will virtually definitely exaggerate fictitious post-vote allegations of electoral anomalies.
Additionally, they can use espionage and cyberattacks to interfere with or change news and government websites to spread misinformation about the ballot-counting procedure and create confusion about the results, particularly in too-close races.