Russia has once again stepped up a disinformation campaign aimed at American audiences ahead of the US midterm elections. The operation’s goal is to deepen internal divisions and undermine trust in the electoral process.
According to the newspaper’s sources, classified US intelligence assessments in recent months indicate that the Kremlin has authorised the spread of content on social media to inflame political tensions in the United States.
At the same time, US intelligence agencies have found no evidence of attempts to interfere with voting equipment in a way that would jeopardise the voting process itself.
Researchers tracking Russian disinformation campaigns have in recent weeks identified several social media networks that circulated fake videos created using artificial intelligence.
In these videos, American and Hollywood celebrities purportedly discuss Senate races. Some of the material contained false or unsubstantiated claims about Democratic Party candidates.
According to researchers, some videos were edited to give the impression they came from well-known media outlets, including CNN, the BBC and The New York Times. The social network X removed some posts, but some content remained available.
Some officials believe the current Russian campaign is smaller in scale and less co-ordinated than certain previous influence operations. At the same time, US intelligence believes Moscow may be more interested in the presidential election than in the midterms.
Graphika senior researcher Jean Le Roux said activity linked to Russian networks may only be gathering pace.
"We certainly expect this to gather pace. I don’t think they will stop. I think we are seeing the start of a campaign focused on the US elections," he said.
US intelligence assessments also point to possible Iranian activity ahead of the November elections. According to officials, Tehran has previously run influence campaigns targeting Donald Trump.
Last month, Meta reported detecting a small network of Facebook and Instagram accounts linked to Iran and focused on US politics. Some of the network’s content, the company said, was created using artificial intelligence and carried anti-Republican messages.
China may also be preparing to conduct influence operations focused on specific congressional races or lawmakers whom Beijing sees as acting against its interests. At the same time, US intelligence allows that China may refrain from active operations because of the risk of negative consequences.
US intelligence agencies have previously said that in 2016 Vladimir Putin ordered an election interference operation aimed against Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton and in favour of Donald Trump’s electoral prospects.
These findings were later confirmed by a series of reviews, including a years-long investigation by the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
- The current campaign is taking place ahead of the US midterm elections, scheduled for 3 November. Americans will be electing, among other things, members of Congress, as well as governors and members of state legislatures in most states.