Russia Seeking to Undermine Confidence in Elections, Says US Intelligence

Away from the glitz and glamour of celebrity endorsements (see our last post), US intelligence chiefs are warning that “foreign adversaries” – including Russia – are carrying out operations to “undermine public confidence in the integrity of US elections and stoke divisions among Americans”.

In a joint statement, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said Russia-linked groups were inciting violence against election officials and repeating false claims of voter fraud.

The agencies state that “Russian influence actors” recently posted an article falsely claiming that officials in key states plan to rig Tuesday’s presidential election by stuffing ballot boxes.

The ODNI goes on to say it expects these efforts to intensify over the coming days. It also accuses Iran of being a “significant foreign influence threat” to the US.

Tehran and Moscow have denied trying to disrupt the election.