Russian Federation has launched covert influence campaign in U.S. against candidates who support Ukraine
The Russian government has launched a covert online campaign aimed at influencing public opinion in the United States in order to undermine the credibility of both Democrats and Republicans who support Ukraine ahead of the midterm elections.
Politico reports this, according to Censor.NET.
Details
Democrat Mark Warner, vice chairman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Jim Himes, a senior Democratic member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, told reporters on Wednesday that details of Russia’s actions are outlined in a classified report on foreign interference in the election, which was sent to their offices by U.S. intelligence agencies earlier this week.
"It's a real carnival there," Himes said regarding Russia's information operations. According to him, they are aimed at creating "a sense of chaos and anarchy."
He added that Russian disinformation campaigns cover a range of topics: from undermining trust in U.S. government institutions to sowing doubts about the reliability of voting machines.
Warner noted that the report states that Moscow is using artificial intelligence tools to accelerate the spread of disinformation and amplify its impact on Americans.
At the same time, lawmakers did not specify which candidates these operations are targeting. They emphasized that Russia is likely attempting to discredit any politicians who support Ukraine, regardless of their party affiliation.
In addition, they stated that U.S. intelligence had found no evidence that Russia had attempted to hack into U.S. election infrastructure or the computer networks of campaign headquarters.
Russian Federation Interference in Previous Years
- It is noted that Russia has long been accused by the United States and its allies of interfering in elections. Russian intelligence operatives were linked to the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and the email accounts of the campaign headquarters of then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016. That year, Moscow also supported extensive influence campaigns against Clinton.
- In 2018 and 2024, Russia was accused of spreading disinformation aimed at influencing the U.S. elections.
"During every election cycle since 2016, Russia has spread disinformation that… was directed against the Democrats," Warner said.
In addition to the United States, Russia has been accused of interfering in elections in other countries as well, including Georgia, Moldova, and France.
- Details have already emerged about at least one operation linked to Russia. On Wednesday, Graphika, a company that analyzes information operations, released data showing that Storm-1516—a Russia-linked influence group active since 2023—created and posted a deepfake video on social media platform X. In these videos, Texas Senate candidate James Talarico was accused of sexual assault.
- Last week, Platform X also reported that it had removed more than 13,000 accounts linked to election disinformation campaigns originating in Russia, Iran, and China. According to platform representatives, these campaigns targeted "candidates and public figures across the political spectrum."
The publication notes that officials from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) did not respond promptly to a request for additional information regarding the classified report.
