Russia is expected to intensify attempts to undermine the U.S. vote on election day with a focus on swing states, U.S. intelligence agencies said in a statement on the eve of the election on Nov. 4.
U.S. citizens are heading to the polls on Nov. 5 as the country chooses between Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and her Republican challenger, former President Donald Trump.
"Since our statement on Friday, the IC (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," a statement by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the FBI read.
"The IC expects these activities will intensify through election day and in the coming weeks, and that foreign influence narratives will focus on swing states."
U.S. intelligence has previously warned that Russia seeks to undermine the Democratic ticket by spreading disinformation online and other malicious methods.
In the most recent statement, the agencies said that "Russian influence actors" recently amplified an article falsely accusing U.S. officials of planning an electoral fraud across swing states.
Pro-Russian actors have also reportedly posted a video falsely depicting a plot involving fake overseas ballots and changing voter rolls to favor Harris.
In a separate example reported the same day, a pro-Trump online influencer that goes by the handle @AlphaFox78 on X told CNN he was paid $100 by pro-Russian propagandist Simeon Boikov to post fake videos of Haitian immigrants claiming to vote.
The Georgia Secretary of State said the content of the videos was entirely fake.
U.S. intelligence also accused Iran of "malicious cyber activities" aimed at undermining Trump's campaign.
The election result can have a profound impact on the Russia-Ukraine war. While Harris pledged to continue supporting Ukraine in its struggle, there are fears that Trump would seek to cut a deal with Moscow, even at the cost of painful concessions on Ukraine's side.
Owen Racer
(Updated: )
