Chinese accounts helped spread Russian disinformation campaigns aimed at undermining the U.S. 2024 elections, according to research from the Atlantic Council published Nov. 4.
U.S. intelligence agencies have recently warned that foreign adversaries are engaging in influence campaigns to mislead voters ahead of and during the 2024 election.
Analysts at the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab identified multiple videos linked to Russia disseminating false reports about voting. Fake social media accounts in China helped amplify these videos, researchers said.
These accounts previously focused on pro-China propaganda and only recently pivoted to the U.S. election.
A U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report on Oct. 2 said that Russia, China, and Iran posed the most significant threats to the integrity of the upcoming presidential election.
The report came a month after the U.S. announced a sweeping crackdown on Russian propaganda outlets due to alleged election interference.
As U.S. voters cast their ballots on Nov. 5, some Russian interference tactics moved beyond online disinformation into disruptions at polling sites. Bomb threats originating in Russia targeted polling centers in several key states, causing evacuations at some locations.
The 2024 presidential election holds high stakes for Ukraine. The future of U.S. aid to Kyiv is on the line, with the two candidates delivering sharply different messages on their hopes for Ukraine's future.
Francis Farrell
