Russia is promoting lies about election fraud in swing states, the US intelligence community says

Hours before millions of Americans go to the polls on Tuesday, the US intelligence community said Russia was spreading fake news to create the perception that officials in key swing states were preparing to commit various acts of election fraud.

“Influencers linked to Russia in particular are producing videos and creating fake articles to undermine the legitimacy of the election, instill fear in voters about the electoral process, and suggest that Americans are using violence against each other because of political preferences, based on available information. at CI”, says a joint statement published by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI, and DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency. “We expect Russian actors to release additional manufactured content with these themes leading up to Election Day and in the days and weeks after the polls close.”

The fake article, posted and amplified by Russian influence operators, claims that US officials in swing states plan to stuff ballots, conduct cyber attacks against election infrastructure and use a “range of tactics” to “undermine public confidence in the integrity of US. election and fueled divisions among Americans,” the statement said.

Russian actors aim, in part, to convince the American public that election-related violence is spreading and to scare voters.

In Arizona, Russian actors created and disseminated a fake news article describing an interview alleging that state officials created fake ballots and changed voter rolls to favor Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. “The Arizona Secretary of State has already dismissed the video’s claim as false,” the statement said.

“We expect Russian actors to release additional fabricated content with these themes leading up to Election Day and in the days and weeks after the polls close,” the statement said.

Iran also continues to be a “foreign influence threat” to the US election, the statement said: “As noted in a previous update, we have assessed that Iran has engaged in malicious cyber activities to compromise the campaign former President Trump. Iranian influencers may also attempt to create fake media content intended to suppress voting or incite violence, as they have done in previous election cycles.”

The announcement came just hours after CISA director Jen Easterly said reporters that “our election infrastructure has never been more secure and the electoral community has never been better prepared to hold safe, secure, free and fair elections.”