The FBI has published a public service announcement warning that “foreign actors” and cybercriminals will likely attempt to spread misinformation about the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The intelligence bureau encouraged Americans to be patient about the results of the election and ensure they are getting information from trusted sources, amid expectations that there won’t be a definitive result on “election night”, 3 November , because it takes longer to gather and count mailed-in ballots.
There is expected to be tens of millions more Americans than usual voting by mail in this election because of precautions about spreading the coronavirus by going to polling stations in person, which could lead to chaos if candidates claim victory prematurely and the verified result takes many days to emerge.
“Foreign actors and cybercriminals could create new websites, change existing websites, and create or share corresponding social media content to spread false information in an attempt to discredit the electoral process and undermine confidence in US democratic institutions,” the agency warned on Tuesday.
The announcement emphasized that it may take several days for state and local officials to certify votes, meaning results could be incomplete on the night of the election.
The announcement came soon after reports first published by the Washington Post that Russian president Vladimir Putin and his aides are “probably directing” an operation to influence the election against Joe Biden, according to two anonymous sources who reviewed a classified CIA assessment.
The assessment details attempts by Ukrainian lawmaker Andrii Derkach, who has public connections to Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, to spread discrediting information about Biden to members of Congress, lawmakers and members of the media.
While accusations of Derkach’s attempt to spread misinformation about Biden, which Derkach has denied, have been known for some time, the CIA’s assessment was the first indication that Putin could be directly orchestrating the operation.
“We assess that President Vladimir Putin and the senior most Russian officials are aware of and probably directing Russia’s influence operations aimed at denigrating the former US Vice President, supporting the US president and fueling public discord ahead of the US election in November,” the first line of the document says, according to the sources.
In July, Biden released a comprehensive statement that, if elected, he will hold Russia and other foreign governments accountable for any interference with the election.
At the time, Democrats in Congress were raising concerns over foreign election interference and demanded a briefing from the FBI.
In his statement, Biden criticized the Trump administration for failing to take actions to deter and counter any foreign interference, refusing to use the president’s authority to sanction certain countries that are accused of trying to influence the American election.
Over the last few months, Trump has dismissed concerns about foreign influence coming from online and has said that mail-in ballots are susceptible to foreign interference, a claim that has been overwhelmingly debunked by top intelligence officials and experts who say that mail-in voting is safe from foreign influence.
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