The Many Actors Interfering in US Elections

• America’s enemies like Russia, Iran, and China are actively meddling in the 2024 election

• Most of the foreign powers are more friendly towards Kamala Harris than Donald Trump

• Powers, both foreign and domestic, are influencing voices in American media

The story

Recently, there have been numerous instances of foreign powers attempting to meddle in the 2024 presidential election. While foreign interference is common in US elections, the intentions this time appear mixed, with some supporting Donald Trump and more favoring Kamala Harris; their primary objective, however, appears to be creating public discord and confusion.

Some of the expected players, like Russia, China, and Iran, are directly engaging in cyber activities to fool Americans and have even hacked presidential campaigns to damage the candidates.

More subtle interferences are taking place as well. One of these comes from Brazil, where they are seeking to outright ban mass forms of communication because of fears of “far-right ideology.”

On the domestic front, there has been a push for wealthy interests to secretly fund online influencers to endorse specific candidates while pretending their support is grassroots — a tactic known as an astroturf campaign.

While tactics like using fake online personas to post provocative memes may have limited impact, more sophisticated strategies to create division have proven more effective. These efforts create widespread confusion, making it difficult for people to discern authentic voices and reliable information sources.

The powers and their objectives

Russia: The Russians have been poking and prodding in the US elections in a variety of bizarre ways. Most recently, an American company by the name of Tenet Media was exposed to have been paid $10 million by the Kremlin to push pro-Russian content from conservative American influencers.

Though many of the individuals involved were victims of the scheme, according to the Justice Department report, the Russians clearly see an opening to gain support from right-wing Americans who are deeply skeptical of the Ukraine war.

Further, in an interview last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin joked that he is supporting Kamala Harris over Donald Trump because she has an infectious laugh, though more seriously commented that Harris was more predictable.

Many conservatives have observed that Putin waited until Joe Biden assumed the presidency to invade Ukraine, likely because the response of Donald Trump and his Republican administration may have been more direct. President Biden, on the other hand, promised he would not retaliate against Russia for a “minor incursion” into Ukraine.

China: A Chinese influence operation, known as "Spamouflage," is using fake social media accounts to spread anti-Western sentiment and disrupt US political discourse. These accounts, posing as American citizens, have been active since 2019 but ramped up efforts during the 2022 midterms and ahead of the 2024 election, targeting sensitive topics like gun control and the Israel-Hamas war.

Many of the social media posts from the fake Chinese accounts were found to be both supportive and critical of Donald Trump, with the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, who published the report detailing “Spamouflage,” concluding that the purpose of this operation is to sow discord among Americans.

A recent scandal involving the arrest of one of New York Governor Kathy Hochul's top aides for spying on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) further illustrates a growing pattern of Chinese infiltration within Democratic circles.

After years of Chinese spies infiltrating Democratic political networks, it has become evident that the CCP perceives a strategic advantage with Democrats in power over Republicans.

Iran: The Iranians have been caught in several recent scandals, including their successful attempts at hacking the Trump campaign and leaking an internal memo to the left-wing press. The Iranians have been known, for years, to be trying to retaliate against former President Trump for his administration’s assassination of its top military commander, Qasem Soleimani, in 2020.

American intelligence concluded that Iran has been actively plotting to assassinate Trump, with a Pakistani man tied to Iran being arrested last month for planning such an attempt.

Further, the Biden-Harris administration has been extremely friendly towards Iran, unfreezing $10 million for them, while the previous Democratic presidency under Barack Obama sent them $400 million in unfrozen assets, which they then used to fund their terrorist proxies Hezbollah and Hamas.

Now, the Iranians are using fake websites and social media accounts to spread disinformation. Traditionally targeting adversaries like Israel and Saudi Arabia, Iran is now focusing on undermining the US elections, with its efforts aimed primarily at the Trump campaign, though they have meddled in Biden's and Harris’ as well.

Iranian operatives, supported by the Revolutionary Guards Corps, are using vast networks of hackers, social media platforms, and front companies to promote pro-Iran messaging among Americans.

Biden campaign: President Biden's re-election campaign has leveraged hundreds of social media influencers to engage with younger voters, a crucial demographic for Democratic success. Many Gen-Z influencers have been granted unprecedented access to the White House, as Democrats are using popular influencers to spread their pro-Biden-Harris messaging.

Much of their messaging has focused on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, even as the administration scrutinizes TikTok due to its Chinese ownership.

Further, a super PAC called Priorities USA has launched their own influencer campaign which appears to be an astroturf effort, where influencers are paid to promote Democratic talking points while presenting it as grassroots support.

By enlisting influencers to spread pro-Democratic content that seems authentic, this strategy aims to influence young voters while hiding the true source of these messages. While Democrats accuse Republicans of being influenced by Kremlin-backed media, they are simultaneously deploying paid influencers to promote their own political messaging.

Why it matters

The attempts by America's enemies to interfere in the 2024 election highlights how most of them are acting to promote Kamala Harris, as she is viewed as more friendly towards their governments than Donald Trump. Harris broadly represents the status quo to these powers — a much safer prospect than an unpredictable Trump.

More concerning are the efforts by domestic entities to shape media narratives. When regular Americans are being fed information influenced by powerful interests rather than genuine sources, it threatens the public’s ability to trust the authenticity of the information they receive. This could undermine confidence in the media and have serious implications for the future of informed political discourse.