Russia, Iran, China targeting US voters with election disinformation

[Jack]

EIGHT YEARS AFTER RUSSIA FAMOUSLY INTERFERED IN THE U-S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, A MORE SOPHISTICATED FORM OF FOREIGN MEDDLING IS THREATENING THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE.

IN 2016, RUSSIA’S INTERFERENCE WAS BLUNT AND OFTEN SLOPPY, SPREADING DIVISIVE POSTS ONLINE THAT WERE HARD TO MISS. BUT FAST FORWARD TO TODAY… EXPERTS SAY THESE CAMPAIGNS HAVE MATURED. 

U-S INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES SAY THAT RUSSIA IS BACKING DONALD TRUMP’S CANDIDACY, WHILE IRAN FAVORS KAMALA HARRIS. CHINA REMAINS NEUTRAL, BUT ALL THREE NATIONS SHARE A COMMON GOAL: TO UNDERMINE CONFIDENCE IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY. MICHAEL CASEY, DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL COUNTERINTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY CENTER DESCRIBED A RECENT REPORT FROM THE FOREIGN MALIGN INFLUENCE CENTER.

Michael Casey, Director Of The National Counterintelligence and Security Center
“you see the Russians and the Iranians in particular trying to interfere on the presidential election for different… weirdly different candidates um the Chinese are seem to be playing in local uh state level elections not not very much on the presidential or national but

yeah you 100% continue to see uh other countries attempt to interfere or influence in our election”

UNLIKE 2016, THESE FOREIGN INFLUENCE CAMPAIGNS AREN’T LIMITED TO FACEBOOK. TODAY, THE DISINFORMATION IS SPREAD ACROSS DOZENS OF PLATFORMS, FROM POPULAR SOCIAL MEDIA SITES TO SMALL ONLINE FORUMS — EVEN CHAT GROUPS AND MESSAGING APPS. RUSSIA IS ACTIVE ON TELEGRAM, WHERE IT SHARES DIVISIVE VIDEOS AND MEMES, AND BOTH RUSSIA AND CHINA ARE USING LESSER-KNOWN PLATFORMS LIKE GAB TO SPREAD CONSPIRACY THEORIES.

AND IN SOME CASES… THE CALL IS COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE, AS RUSSIA USES AMERICAN EXPATS TO SPREAD THEIR AGENDA… ONE OF THESE AGENTS IS FORMER FLORIDA POLICE OFFICER JOHN MARK DOUGAN. AFTER FLEEING TO MOSCOW, DOUGAN WAS CO-OPTED BY THE G-R-U AND NOW RUNS A VAST NETWORK OF OVER A HUNDRED FAKE NEWS SITES THROUGH A NETWORK KNOWN AS ‘COPYCOP’, WITH NAMES SUCH AS DC WEEKLY, CHICAGO CHRONICLE AND ATLANTA OBSERVER. THE LIST GOES ON AND SEEMINGLY NEVER ENDS WITH THE ADVENT OF GENERATIVE A-I, ALLOWING DISINFORMATION TO FREELY FLOW ON DEMAND. DOUGAN WAS RECENTLY ACCUSED OF CREATING THE VIRAL TIM WALZ DEEPFAKE VIDEO FROM A FORMER STUDENT, ALLEGING SEXUAL ASSAULT AND GAINING MILLIONS OF VIEWS.

DOUGAN DENIED THESE ALLEGATIONS X, SAYING THAT HE PLANS TO RELEASE MORE INFORMATION IN THE COMING WEEKS..

IRAN, FOR INSTANCE, HAS SET UP ONLINE SITES THAT SEEM TO CATER TO DISTINCT COMMUNITIES. ONE SITE, CALLED “NOT OUR WAR,” TARGETS VETERANS WITH ANTI-AMERICAN CONSPIRACY THEORIES, WHILE “AFRO MAJORITY” CREATES CONTENT FOR BLACK AMERICANS, AND “SAVANNAH TIME” AIMS TO SWAY CONSERVATIVE VOTERS IN GEORGIA. IN MICHIGAN, IRAN HAS EVEN CRAFTED CONTENT SPECIFICALLY FOR ARAB AMERICANS IN SUBURBAN DETROIT.

WHEN COMPARING THREATS POSED BY CHINA AND RUSSIA, EXPERTS SAY RUSSIA’S EFFORTS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES ARE LIKE A HURRICANE HITTING ALL AT ONCE, WHILE CHINA’S EFFORTS ARE MORE SUBTLE… A SLOW RISE THAT ISN’T NOTICED UNTIL IT’S TOO LATE.

SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN AS WE HEAD INTO ELECTION DAY? SECURITY OFFICIALS SAY IT’S CRITICAL FOR AMERICANS TO STAY ALERT, TO VERIFY THE SOURCES OF THE CONTENT THEY ENCOUNTER, AND TO THINK TWICE BEFORE SHARING ANYTHING THAT SEEMS INFLAMMATORY OR DIVISIVE.

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FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS… I’M JACK AYLMER.