Russia is running a covert online disinformation campaign targeting U.S. politicians who support Ukraine, two Democratic lawmakers said on Oct. 21.
Senator Mark Warner and Representative Jim Himes, two Democrats, told reporters that a recent intelligence briefing revealed Russian efforts to undermine U.S. backing for Ukraine. The misinformation campaign was particularly targeted against Democratic and Republican candidates running in the upcoming U.S. midterm elections who have expressed support for Ukraine.
The lawmakers’ comments come amid an apparent softening of the Trump administration’s stance toward Moscow. President Donald Trump recently announced that the US would allow Russia to export diesel into U.S. markets, and on Oct. 16 waived sanctions passed by bipartisan legislation aimed at countries that purchase Russian energy.
Warner and Himes said they were given a security briefing by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton. While the details of the briefing were classified, the two lawmakers said Russia was conducting a misinformation campaign targeted at Democrats running in the upcoming U.S. midterm elections, Reuters reported.
The campaign uses social media to sow distrust over the integrity of U.S. elections and generate "a sense of chaos and anarchy," the lawmakers said, according to Politico. They added that artificial intelligence has accelerated these efforts, allowing Russian operatives to more effectively target Americans online.
Senator Jon Ossoff, a Democrat running for re-election in Georgia, and James Talarico, a Democrat running for a Senate seat in Texas, are being especially targeted by AI-generated ads, Warner said.
Recent AI-generated videos targeting Talarico that emerged after early voting began in Texas were likely made by a Russian government-backed group, three teams of disinformation researchers said Oct. 22, according to NBC News.
Russian disinformation campaigns, which have also targeted France, Moldova and the United Kingdom, have become a common feature of U.S. elections.
In 2016, a grand jury indicted twelve Russian nationals for interfering with the U.S. presidential elections.
The Department of Justice said that the Russian operatives "engaged in a sustained effort" to hack into the computer networks of the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Congressional Committee, and the Presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, in a 2018 press release.