Russia is relying on unwitting Americans to spread election disinformation, US officials say

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Kremlin is turning to unwitting Americans and commercial PR firms in Russia to spread disinformation about the U.S. presidential race, senior intelligence officials said Monday, detailing the latest efforts by America’s adversaries to shape public opinion ahead of the 2024 election.

The warning comes after a tumultuous few weeks in U.S. politics that have prompted Russia, Iran and China to quickly revise their propaganda playbook. What hasn’t changed, intelligence officials say, is their determination to seed the internet with false and inflammatory claims about American democracy in an effort to undermine faith in elections.

“The American public should know that what they read online — especially on social media — could be foreign propaganda, even if it appears to come from other Americans or originates in the United States,” said an official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity in accordance with rules set by the Office of the Director.

Authorities say Russia continues to pose the biggest threat when it comes to election disinformation, while there are indications Iran is expanding its activities and China is treading cautiously when it comes to the 2024 election.

During a meeting with journalists, officials said Kremlin-linked groups are increasingly hiring marketing and communications firms based in Russia, both to outsource campaign work and to cover their tracks.

Two such companies were the subject of new U.S. sanctions announced in March. Authorities say the two Russian companies created fake websites and social media profiles to spread Kremlin disinformation.

Disinformation can focus on candidates or voting, or on issues already being debated in the U.S., such as immigration, crime or the war in Gaza.

The ultimate goal, however, is to get Americans to spread Russian disinformation without questioning its origins. People are much more likely to trust and republish information they believe comes from a domestic source, officials said. Fake websites designed to mimic U.S. news outlets and social media profiles generated by artificial intelligence are just two methods.

In some cases, Americans, American technology companies, and the media were eager to amplify and repeat the Kremlin’s messages.

“Foreign actors are getting better at hiding their intentions and getting Americans to do it,” said the official, who spoke alongside officials from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security.

Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said last month that he was concerned that the United States could be more vulnerable to foreign disinformation this year than it was before the 2020 election. On Monday, he said the warning from intelligence officials shows that the U.S. election is “under the spotlight of bad actors around the world.”

“Disturbingly, it also underscores the extent to which foreign actors — and Russia in particular — rely on both unwitting and aware Americans to promote narratives in the United States that favor foreign interests,” Warner, a Virginia Democrat, said in a statement.

In one indicator of the threat, officials monitoring foreign disinformation say they have issued twice as many warnings to political candidates, government leaders, campaign offices and other individuals targeted by foreign groups in the 2024 election cycle than in the 2022 election cycle.

Authorities have not disclosed how many warnings have been issued or who has received them, but they say the significant increase reflects greater interest by America’s opponents in the presidential race, as well as increased government efforts to identify and warn about such threats.

Warnings are issued so that victims can take appropriate steps to protect themselves and, if necessary, investigate the matter.

Russia and other countries are also quickly seeking to capitalize on some of the recent developments in the presidential race, including the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris.

For example, after the attack on Trump, Russian disinformation agencies were quick to amplify claims that Democratic rhetoric led to the shooting, and even baseless conspiracy theories suggesting that Biden or the Ukrainian government was behind the attack.

“These pro-Russian voices attempted to link the attempted attack to Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine,” said the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensics Lab, which tracks Russian disinformation.

Intelligence officials have said in the past that Russian propaganda is likely aimed at supporting Trump. On Monday, they said they had not changed that assessment.

Undermining support for Ukraine remains a key goal of Russian disinformation. Trump has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past and is seen as less sympathetic to NATO.

While China waged a sweeping disinformation campaign ahead of Taiwan’s recent election, the country has been much more cautious when it comes to the U.S. Beijing could use disinformation to target congressional or other lower-level elections in which a candidate has expressed strong views on China. But China is not expected to try to influence the presidential election, officials said Monday.

Xie Feng, China’s ambassador to the United States, said on Monday that his government has no intention of interfering in American politics.

Iran, however, has taken a more aggressive stance. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said earlier this month that the Iranian government was covertly supporting U.S. protests against Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza. Groups linked to Iran have been posing as online activists, encouraging protests and providing financial support to some protest groups, Haines said.

Iran opposes candidates who are likely to increase tensions with Tehran, officials said. That description fits Trump, whose administration ended the Iran nuclear deal, reimposed sanctions and ordered the killing of a top Iranian general.

Messages left with representatives of the Russian and Iranian governments were not immediately returned Monday.

Associated Press journalists Didi Tang and Tara Copp contributed to this article.