[US Election 2024]
Undermining Election Legitimacy and Inciting Violence
Fake News Impersonating Major Media Outlets Also Reported
Voting for the U.S. presidential election began on the 5th (local time), amid warnings from U.S. intelligence agencies about the spread of Russian-origin disinformation.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a joint statement on the 4th, stating that foreign adversaries, particularly Russia, are making additional attempts to spread election-related disinformation to sow division within the United States.
They said, "Russia poses the most active threat," adding, "Actors linked to Russia are creating videos and fake news to undermine the legitimacy of the election, instill fear in voters about the election process, and claim that Americans are using violence based on political preferences."
U.S. intelligence agencies had previously warned on the 1st that Russia was involved in spreading disinformation related to the presidential election. However, they have reiterated their warnings as Russia continues to disseminate false information.
The agencies reported that new false information has emerged, including claims that battleground state officials are inflating ballots and conducting cyberattacks to manipulate votes, and that the Democratic Party is forging ballots of Arizona voters living abroad to funnel votes to Vice President Harris. They emphasized that Russia is involved in these activities as well.
Regarding Iran, the agencies noted that it had previously conducted malicious cyber activities to interfere with former President Donald Trump's campaign. They added, "Iran may attempt to create fake media content to suppress voting and incite violence, as it did in past elections."
The intelligence agencies forecast that Russia's activities spreading disinformation on social media platforms during election day and the following weeks could intensify. Jen Easterly, director of CISA, expressed concern, saying, "This year's election is seeing an unprecedented amount of disinformation. The American public is being exposed to an enormous volume of false information, and this will continue."
In fact, on the same day, fake election-related news mimicking major media outlets such as CBS and CNN circulated on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter). A fake image formatted as CNN's "Major Election Breaking News," claiming "Vice President Kamala Harris leads former President Donald Trump in Texas," spread on X, garnering over 10 million views. Both networks quickly identified it as fake news.
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