Foreign interference in the 2024 United States elections
 2024 U.S. presidential election | |
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Several nations have interfered in the 2024 United States elections. U.S. intelligence agencies have identified China,[1][2] Iran,[3][4][5] and Russia[6][7][8] as the most pressing concerns.[9]
Interference has included propaganda, disinformation, and misinformation campaigns using inauthentic accounts and websites on social media and the internet;[1][2][7][10] successful and unsuccessful attempts to hack presidential campaigns;[4] the promotion and denigration of specific candidates and causes;[6] and the posting of divisive content and conspiracy theories to cause domestic unrest and criticize the United States and democracy more broadly.[1][2]
Background
[edit]Before the election, current and former U.S. officials stated that foreign interference in the 2024 election was likely. Three major factors cited were "America's deepening domestic political crises, the collapse of controversial attempts to control political speech on social media, and the rise of generative AI."[11]
In March 2021, the National Intelligence Council released a report that found Russia and Iran carried out operations to influence the 2020 election. It also stated that China "considered but did not deploy" influence efforts in 2020,[12] although it increased efforts by the 2022 midterms.[13] A declassified U.S. intelligence report released in December 2023 found with "high confidence" that a "diverse and growing group of foreign actors" including China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba had all interfered in the 2022 midterms with influence campaigns on social media to covertly advance the interests their respective nations, exacerbate social divisions, and sow doubt in democracy, voting, and the result of elections.[14]
Analysis
[edit]U.S. intelligence officials have described the efforts as part of broader efforts by authoritarian nations to use the internet to erode support for democracy.[1]
The Associated Press cites U.S. intelligence officials as describing Chinese interference as being more aggressive in recent months but overall cautious and nuanced, instead focusing on American policy towards Taiwan and undermining "confidence in elections, voting and the U.S. in general." Iran was also described as more aggressive than in the past, while Russia was described as remaining the top threat.[1] Iranian interference is described as attempting to tip the election against Trump, which is believed to be partly in response to Trump's withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal and the 2020 assassination of Qassim Suleimani. However, Iran has also targeted the Biden and Harris campaigns, which The New York Times described as suggesting "a wider goal of sowing internal discord and discrediting the democratic system in the United States more broadly in the eyes of the world."[3] U.S. intelligence has described Russian interference as supporting Trump, viewing him as more skeptical towards arming Ukraine.[8] China, Russia, and Iran have all promoted disinformation criticizing the Democratic nominee for president.[2][3][8]
In advance of the 2024 election, American intelligence assessments found that Iran had covertly supported college protests against the war in Gaza using social media posing as students and having operatives offer financial assistance.[3] Pro-Israel groups have also spent large sums of money to support pro-Israel candidates against candidates critical of the Israeli government.[15][16] Jordanian-American journalist Rami George Khouri wrote that "Such aggressive funding campaigns by AIPAC and other pro-Israeli forces may soon be perceived as another dimension of foreign interference in US elections, which has grown as a national concern since 2016."[17]
Suspected state-sponsored interference
[edit]On August 28, 2024, a CNN investigation in collaboration with the Centre for Information Resilience found an orchestrated effort to influence voters through an orchestrated campaign "with hallmarks that could be consistent with a state-sponsored actor" highlighting 56 fake, pro-Trump accounts on X using stolen and altered images of "attractive young women" to espouse pro-Trump propaganda, conspiracy theories, and "anti-LGBTQ, anti-transgender, anti-vaccination, racist and xenophobic sentiments."[10]
See also
[edit]- Foreign electoral intervention
- List of foreign electoral interventions
- Lobbying in the United States
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Klepper, David (September 3, 2024). "China-linked 'Spamouflage' network mimics Americans online to sway US political debate". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 4, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Hsu, Tiffany; Myers, Steven Lee (April 1, 2024). "China's Advancing Efforts to Influence the U.S. Election Raise Alarms". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 3, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Myers, Steven Lee; Hsu, Tiffany; Fassihi, Farnaz (September 4, 2024). "Iran Emerges as a Top Disinformation Threat in U.S. Presidential Race". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on September 4, 2024.
- ^ a b Collier, Kevin (August 14, 2024). "Google says it observed Iran trying to hack the Trump and Biden-Harris campaigns". USA Today. Archived from the original on August 16, 2024. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
- ^ Morrison, Dan (August 12, 2024). "FBI probes Trump hack, Harris team says it was also targeted in failed attempt". USA Today. Archived from the original on August 15, 2024.
- ^ a b De Luce, Dan (February 26, 2024). "Russia's 2024 election interference has already begun". NBC News. Archived from the original on April 1, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
- ^ a b Barnes, Julian E.; Sanger, David E. (March 27, 2024). "Russia Amps Up Online Campaign Against Ukraine Before U.S. Elections". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 2, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
- ^ a b c Barnes, Julian E.; Thrush, Glenn; Myers, Steven Lee (September 4, 2024). "U.S. Announces Plan to Counter Russian Influence Ahead of 2024 Election". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- ^ Green, Justin (September 4, 2024). "2024's triple threats on election disinformation". Axios. Archived from the original on September 5, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
- ^ a b Polglase, Katie; Munsi, Pallabi; Arvanitidis, Barbara; Platt, Alex; Baron, Mark; Featherstone, Oscar (August 28, 2024). "'My identity is stolen': Photos of European influencers used to push pro-Trump propaganda on fake X accounts". CNN. Archived from the original on August 31, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- ^ Chalfant, Morgan (March 6, 2024). "U.S. braces for foreign interference in 2024 election". Semafor. Archived from the original on March 11, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ Samuels, Brett (June 4, 2024). "Biden on foreign election meddling: 'All the bad guys are rooting for Trump'". The Hill. Archived from the original on August 27, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- ^ Lyngaas, Sean; Lee, MJ (January 31, 2024). "Exclusive: Xi promised Biden China wouldn't interfere in 2024 election". CNN. Archived from the original on May 1, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- ^ Bo Lillis, Katie (December 18, 2024). "China, Russia, Iran and Cuba all tried to meddle in 2022 US congressional elections, intelligence assessment finds". CNN. Archived from the original on August 18, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
- ^ "Pro-Israel US groups plan $100m effort to unseat progressives over Gaza". The Guardian. 22 April 2024.
- ^ "The pro-Israel groups planning to spend millions in US elections". The Guardian. 22 April 2024.
- ^ G Khouri, Rami (11 August 2024). "AIPAC is growing desperate". Al Jazeera.