Russia wages misinformation campaign against Democrats in midterm elections, intelligence briefing shows
Washington — The top Democratic lawmakers on Congress's intelligence committees said Wednesday that an election-security briefing showed Russia has been waging a misinformation campaign against Democratic candidates ahead of next month's midterm elections.
Senator Mark Warner and Representative Jim Himes told reporters they themselves had requested the briefing from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, and that they could not disclose details because the material is classified. But they said Moscow is running the same kind of online misinformation campaign that the U.S. intelligence community had already tracked in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 elections.
According to Warner, Democrats James Talarico —a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Texas— and Senator Jon Ossoff —seeking reelection in Georgia— are being targeted in particular with fake advertisements created with artificial intelligence.
Himes added that there is “no reason to believe” China is not conducting “extremely targeted” efforts to influence voters, as it has in the past, and stressed there is no evidence that any country can penetrate U.S. election systems and change results. The White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment; the Russian embassy did not respond either, and Moscow has previously denied meddling in U.S. elections.
The lawmakers voiced concern that President Donald Trump could attempt to contest the election results, including by claiming foreign hacking of voting infrastructure. The remarks come as Trump has in recent weeks eased economic sanctions on Russia and increased pressure on Ukraine to end its fight against Russian forces, according to Reuters. Recent Reuters/Ipsos polling shows Democrats leading Republicans on the generic congressional ballot by margins of high single to low double digits nationally.
Photo: A Lo Claro Archive
Source: Reuters