Despite US Federal Government Blockades... Russian Election Interference Attempts Surge
"Voters Become 'Vulnerable' as Election Day Approaches" Concerns
About a month before the U.S. presidential election, attempts by Russia to interfere in the election are intensifying. Fake news about Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris is rapidly spreading on social networking services (SNS) despite efforts by the U.S. federal government to block it. As Vice President Harris and former President Donald Trump are engaged in a neck-and-neck race in the polls, concerns are growing that fake news could have a greater impact on this election than expected.
The Washington Post (WP) recently reported, citing federal government officials, that Russia is accelerating efforts to favor former President Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, in this year’s election. An investigation into the spread of various fake news related to Vice President Harris revealed links to Russian entities.
Examples of such fake news include claims that "Vice President Harris is showing symptoms of Alzheimer's" and "the Harris family secretly requested puberty blockers from a major pharmaceutical company." Additionally, an interview video circulated on SNS in which a Black woman claimed she was a hit-and-run victim of Vice President Harris in 2011 was found to be fabricated by a Russian propaganda organization. This video became a major topic on SNS and garnered millions of views on X alone.
The problem is that the U.S. federal government’s efforts to block Russia’s election interference attempts have not been very effective. In September, federal prosecutors confirmed that news sites posting fake Fox News and WP articles, as well as prominent American influencers, were receiving funding from Russia, and took related actions including seizing 32 internet domains.
However, fake news targeting Vice President Harris continues to spread through the representative SNS platform X. Fake news tracking company Alessia reported that when 77 accounts on X posted fake news, the information quickly spread through more than 400 other accounts. Videos were retweeted more than 70 times within less than 30 minutes of being posted.
Clint Watts of Microsoft (MS), who is involved in combating fake news, assessed that Russian propaganda organizations are moving to new websites to spread fake news. He expressed concern that as the election approaches and the race remains tight, these activities could have significant influence, stating, "Voters become more vulnerable as Election Day nears." Thomas Rid, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, pointed out that not only fake news but also the leakage of important materials from Harris’s campaign due to Russian operations could pose serious problems.
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