TOP U.S. government intelligence officials have raised the alarm that there is an increasing foreign election interference, especially from Russia.
In a joint statement, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, ODNI, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, CISA, raised the concerns amid warnings on Friday about the interference.
The three agencies said they had 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 agencies said the efforts would redouble throughout Tuesday, election day and afterwards, stressing that they would be focused on the seven key swing states of Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and North Carolina.
U.S. voters are choosing whether to send former Republican president Donald Trump or Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris to the White House.
“Russia is the most active threat. 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,” the agencies said.
According to the intelligence officials, Russian-influenced operators had recently posted false articles that said U.S. officials were trying to influence the elections through ballot stuffing and cyberattacks.
The statement further said that the bad actors also manufactured and amplified a recent video that falsely depicted an interview with an individual claiming election fraud in Arizona to favor Vice President Kamala Harris.
