US intelligence officials make last-ditch effort to sound the alarm over foreign election interference

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45 min ago

US intelligence officials make last-ditch effort to sound the alarm over foreign election interference

From CNN's Josh Campbell

In a last-ditch effort to make voters aware of alleged foreign interference in the 2024 election, the US intelligence community issued a statement late Monday warning about global efforts to manipulate US public opinion and the possible violence that could come as a result.

The US intelligence community “has been observing foreign adversaries, particularly Russia, conducting additional influence operations intended to undermine public confidence in the integrity of U.S. elections and stoke divisions among Americans,” the FBI, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a joint statement hours before Election Day 2024.

“The [intelligence community] expects these activities will intensify through election day and in the coming weeks, and that foreign influence narratives will focus on swing states,” the warning continued.

The new statement comes after the intelligence community warned last Friday of a fake online video purporting to depict a Haitian citizen boasting about illegally voting in the state of Georgia.

CNN reported earlier Monday that an American man who lives in Massachusetts and is a pro-Trump social media influencer said he was the one behind that fake video and that he was paid $100 by a pro-Kremlin propagandist to post it online.

“Russia is the most active threat,” the new statement warns. “Influence actors linked to Russia in particular are manufacturing videos and creating fake articles to undermine the legitimacy of the election, instill fear in voters regarding the election process, and suggest Americans are using violence against each other due to political preferences, judging from information available to the IC. These efforts risk inciting violence, including against election officials. We anticipate Russian actors will release additional manufactured content with these themes through election day and in the days and weeks after polls close.”

In addition to warning about Kremlin-backed interference, the US intelligence community said Iran “remains a significant foreign influence threat to U.S. elections.”