Russia, China and Iran are intent on fanning divisive narratives to divide Americans ahead of the November 5 US elections, a US intelligence official said on Tuesday.
Briefing reporters on US election security, the director of National Intelligence, Avril D. Haines, said foreign actors could consider physical threats and violence, and are highly likely to conduct disinformation operations to create uncertainty and undermine the election process.
“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,” he said.
The official said foreign actors were using social media and other online operations to influence US presidential and congressional races, to denigrate some candidates or support others.
Haines added that some social media posts are likely to be generated by artificial intelligence.
As an example, he pointed to a post on social media platform X this month generated by what he called Russian influence actors that made a false allegation against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who is Kamala Harris' vice presidential running mate.
Intelligence agencies assessed that Russian influence actors created the content, he said. A media review by the agencies showed “several indicators of manipulation” consistent with the actions of Russian actors, the official added.
