According to findings by the US intelligence services, Russia is meddling in elections in many countries around the world to sabotage their credibility. Moscow is using its large network of spies, its state media and online networks, according to a report they published on Friday.
According to the report, Russia is focused on “weakening public confidence in the integrity of the elections.” This is “a global phenomenon”. “Our information suggests that senior Russian government officials, including in the Kremlin, view this type of influence as valuable and effective,” said the report, which was sent to embassies of about 100 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. .
Attempts to undermine democracies
Between 2020 and 2022, Russia made deliberate attempts to undermine public confidence in at least 11 elections in nine democracies, including the United States. Seventeen other democracies were targeted through “less sophisticated” methods, such as online services activities aimed at amplifying existing narratives of electoral integrity.
Without naming the countries in question, the report indicates that the US government has shared its findings with them. Accordingly, Russia uses both “overt and covert mechanisms” to influence elections.
State media spread fake news
Russian secret service FSB networks tried to intimidate election campaigners during elections in an unnamed European country in 2020. Russian state media spread “false claims of voter fraud” in multiple elections in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America in 2020 and 2021, the report said.
Russia also used online platforms last year to cast doubt on the independence of elections in a South American country. From the Russian point of view, according to the US intelligence report, there are two desirable effects: on the one hand, instability spreads in democratic societies and on the other hand, democratic elections are depicted as unreliable – and the resulting governments are thus not legitimized.
“Relatively cheap success”
The US acknowledges in the report its own “vulnerability to this threat”. Moscow has deemed its disinformation campaigns successful during the 2020 U.S. presidential election and the coronavirus pandemic and has been encouraged to continue its election-influencing activities, a U.S. State Department official told reporters on Friday. Moscow is building on this “relatively cheap success” to apply this approach “more broadly and globally.”
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
