US officials sound alarm about foreign interference in election as fake video aimed at Harris surfaces
As a sophisticated artificial intelligence-driven fake video targeting the Democratic Party’s presidential ticket surfaced, US officials have raised concerns about foreign interference in the upcoming election.
Iran is backing Vice President Kamala Harris, while Russia is supporting former President Donald Trump, with China also involved in congressional elections, according to officials.
Three US intelligence agencies reported that Moscow “manufactured a video falsely accusing an individual associated with the Democratic presidential ticket of taking a bribe from a US entertainer.” The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) did not identify the individuals in the video. However, ABC News, citing the FBI, reported that one of the individuals featured in the fake video was Doug Emhoff, Harris’s husband and a lawyer specializing in the entertainment industry.
The agencies stated, “This Russian activity is part of Moscow’s broader effort to raise unfounded questions about the integrity of the U.S. election and stoke divisions among Americans.” Earlier, the ODNI noted that “Russian influence actors” had targeted the Democratic Party’s vice-presidential candidate, Tim Walz, creating and amplifying fake content about alleged illegal activities in his past.
Upon reviewing the electronic media linked to the fake video, intelligence agencies found “several indicators of manipulation consistent with the influence efforts and tactics Russian actors have used.” Officials warned that meddling in US politics would persist beyond the tightly contested election, casting doubt on its legitimacy. An ODNI official noted that “the Intelligence Community continues to assess that Russia prefers the former president and Iran prefers the vice president.”
After the elections for president and Congress conclude, officials anticipate that foreign actors will likely employ similar tactics to undermine trust in the electoral process and exacerbate divisions among Americans. In a particularly brazen example of interference, Iranian agents allegedly hacked into Trump’s campaign, leaking the stolen materials to various media outlets and Democratic Party operatives. In September, the US charged three hackers connected to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in relation to this hacking incident.
While some media outlets, like Politico, declined to run stories based on the leaked information, a Political Action Committee that supports Democrats and is openly anti-Trump posted some of the documents from Trump’s campaign on its website. The group, American Muckrakers, included research on potential vice presidential candidates, minutes from Trump’s call with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, and notes Trump used when contacting donors, but did not disclose the source of the leaked documents.
The ODNI official also mentioned that Cuba is involved alongside Russia and China in attempts to influence congressional, state, and local elections, supporting or denigrating candidates based on how their foreign policy positions align with their national security interests.
