US intelligence: Russia, Iran, China could spark post-election violence

[New Sancai Compilation First Edition] U.S. intelligence officials said on October 22 that Russia, China and Iran intend to incite divisive rhetoric to divide Americans before the November 5 U.S. election and may consider inciting violence after voters cast their votes.

Briefing reporters on U.S. election security, the officials said foreign actors may consider physical threats and violence and are likely to conduct disinformation operations to create uncertainty and undermine the electoral process.

"Foreign actors, particularly Russia, Iran, and China, remain bent on fomenting divisive rhetoric to divide Americans and undermine American confidence in America's democratic institutions. These activities are consistent with what these actors believe is in their interests, even though they Different strategies continue to evolve," said an official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).

The official said influence actors "particularly from Russia, Iran and China" have learned lessons from previous U.S. elections and are better prepared to exploit opportunities to foment unrest.

ODNI officials added that these actors could leverage the same types of tools they used in the pre-election period, particularly information and cyber operations, and may also consider physical threats and violence.

But officials say U.S. intelligence has not found Russia, China and Iran to be cooperating in election influence operations. And, while foreign actors may try to disrupt the process and stoke discontent on Election Day, voting systems are secure enough that they cannot change the results.

"Some foreign actors also have the ability to incite protests and engage in violent action in the (post-election) period," the official said. "In particular, Iran and Russia may be willing to at least consider strategies that could fuel such violence."

A declassified memo released after the briefing by the National Intelligence Council (NIC), the top U.S. intelligence analysis agency, warned that foreign agents would almost certainly amplify false claims of election irregularities after the vote.

The NIC said they may also use cyberattacks and espionage to disrupt or alter news and public government websites to increase confusion about the results and spread disinformation about the vote counting process, especially in close races.

The U.S. presidential race is expected to be fierce. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday showed Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris leading Republican former President Trump 46% to 43%.

Use artificial intelligence

ODNI officials say foreign actors are using social media and other online activities to influence U.S. presidential and congressional campaigns, denigrating some candidates or supporting others.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said some social media posts may have been generated by artificial intelligence.

This month, for example, there was a post on social media platform

The official said intelligence agencies assessed that Russian influencers created the content. The official said the agencies' media review showed "some indications of manipulation" consistent with behavior by Russian actors.

U.S. intelligence services concluded over the weekend that the video was fake and the product of a disinformation operative, the official said, adding that the video was linked to Russia's ongoing efforts to fabricate accusations against Harris and Walz. The effort to undermine the Democratic presidential election was concerted.

U.S. intelligence agencies have been assessing for months that Russia would rather have Trump back in the White House.

In a briefing with reporters on Tuesday, intelligence officials said they expected Russia to further expand the protests if Harris wins the election.

However, NIC said Iran may try to publish content online that disparages Trump.

(Compiled by: Wang Jimin)

(Editor: Jiang Qiming)

(Source of the article: Compiled and published by New Sancai)