Securing Democracy Dispatch

Leading up to Election Day, Russian influence campaigns shifted from targeting candidates or policies to eroding Americans’ “trust of the actual administration” of the elections, recognizing confidence around the process as a “real fault line” in US politics, Senior Fellow Bret Schafer told CNN. 

Furthermore, if the Kremlin was behind the fake bomb threats called in to US polling places on Election Day, it represents “a huge escalation”, Schafer told NBC News, and potentially a new page in their election interference playbook, especially given they seemingly adopted the same tactic in Moldova’s election last weekend, Investigative Open-Source Analyst Larissa Doroshenko and Schafer wrote for ASD.

The amount of content created and spread by operatives working for US adversaries hit a new high in the 2024 election, with Iran and Russia incorporating artificial intelligence and co-opting American influencers, Co-Managing Director David Salvo told Bloomberg.

Russian diplomats and state media focused on two main narratives this week:

• US Elections: After Donald Trump was projected to win the US presidential election, Russian state media discussed the geopolitical and economic consequences of a Trump presidency, while Russian officials offered a cautious but mixed reaction. Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) attributed Trump’s victory to his ability to highlight issues that are “of real interest to the electorate” despite an “overpowering propaganda campaign” marshaled by the “liberal media”. At the same time, the MFA emphasized that the “US ruling political elite adheres to anti-Russian principles”, while Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described the United States as a hostile country that directly and indirectly is at war with Russia.
• Russia’s War in Ukraine: RT reported last week that Russian forces had “rescued” an American citizen who allegedly had been spying for Russia for the past two years from within Ukraine. TASS later revealed that the individual, Daniel Martindale, crossed the border with Ukraine 13 days before the full-scale invasion and had been passing information to Russia ever since. In an interview, Martindale said he has considered the United States his enemy since 2005 and that he believes the US government was responsible for the September 11 attacks. Martindale added that he would like to receive Russian citizenship. 

The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) diplomats and state media focused on one main narrative this week: 

• US Election: PRC diplomats did not weigh in on the US election, with the MFA simply noting that it “respect[s] the choice of the American people”. State media outlets also did not provide much coverage of the last days of the campaign, with a few exceptions, like CGTN Europe relaying Trump’s comments about “transgender craziness”. However, there were a few state media posts commenting on election administration issues and polarization. CGTN Europe speculated about a possible “tie” between candidates and “faithless electors” upending the result of the election, while Xinhua highlighted “fears of violence and chaos” and produced a parody video about the “Divided States of Arimeca [sic]”. Other state media commentary mocked European leaders for rushing to congratulate the US president-elect and used a viral clip of Trump at a past NATO summit to predict future friction. 

US elections secure and fairly smooth, despite Russian-linked bomb threats: Election officials described the voting process nationwide on Tuesday as being generally smooth, safe, and secure, despite a series of non-credible bomb threats to polling places in at least seven states that originated from Russian email domains. Research Assistant Krystyna Sikora said, “While the headlines will focus on Donald Trump’s victory, the real winners on Election Day were election officials. In the face of heightened public scrutiny and Russia’s best efforts to sow chaos, Election Day proceeded without significant hiccups—and in the few instances when a problem did emerge, it was quickly flagged and resolved. This is a testament to grueling efforts by election officials in the last four years to better safeguard elections and improve their communication to the public. They learned from 2020, and all their hard work leading up to their success on Tuesday should be recognized as a significant stride in restoring trust in our elections.”

Russian actors fabricate content promoting voter fraud narratives ahead of Election Day: Russian actors created and paid at least one American influencer to post a video on X that purported to show a Haitian immigrant claiming he would vote at least twice in Georgia for Vice President Kamala Harris. Days later, the FBI announced that it had identified three fake videos and press releases that used the Bureau’s name and insignia to promote narratives of fraud and encourage people to “vote remotely” due to a high terror threat. Co-Managing Director David Salvo told the Dispatch, “This fabricated content is straight out of Russia’s tactical playbook: find a polarizing issue (election fraud), exploit a group of people that inflames passions (not just immigrants, but Haitian immigrants, who have already been under the microscope for rumors that they’re eating dogs and cats in Springfield, Ohio), and sit back and watch the content go viral. The FBI and other government agencies deserve credit for attributing these operations to Russian actors in a timely manner ahead of Election Day.”

Russia allegedly behind parcel bomb plot targeting transatlantic cargo flights: Western security officials have concluded that two explosions in the past few months at a warehouse in the United Kingdom and a transport hub in Germany were part of a Russian intelligence plan to place incendiary devices on cargo planes bound for North America. Research Analyst Etienne Soula said, “Over the past year, Russia has been escalating its hybrid warfare in Europe and beyond. The Kremlin has now grown so emboldened by the West’s waning reaction to its ongoing war in Ukraine that, in 2024 alone, it has sabotaged Czech ammunition factories, orchestrated an assassination attempt in Germany, and now may have planned bombings in the United States. If this latest allegation pans out, it should be yet another reminder that Russia’s aggression and expansionist designs will not stop in Ukraine.”

In Case You Missed It

• US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly said there was no evidence of credible threats impacting the security of election infrastructure on Election Day.
• The US presidential election was well run and peaceful, but was marked by intolerant language and “unfounded claims about election fraud [that] negatively impacted public trust”, according to international observers. 
• Top PRC-linked hackers have recently targeted organizations in the EU using legitimate VPN networks, expanding their list of known targets, according to the cybersecurity firm ESET.
• Canada ordered ByteDance to close operations in the country, citing national security risks, but did not ban Canadians’ access to TikTok. 

RT’s End Around: RT’s Content Launderers Persist Despite Increased Attention and Restrictions. Senior Fellow Bret Schafer wrote for ASD

Suspected Russian Threats Against US Election Operations. Senior Fellow Bret Schafer interviewed on CBS News

Could Republican lawsuits help tip the presidential election in Trump’s favor? Senior Fellow Bret Schafer interviewed on DW News

How Russia Openly Escalated Its Election Interference Efforts. Co-Managing Director David Salvo quoted in The New York Times

Russia blamed for bomb threats at polling sites in Georgia and other states – The Washington Post. Senior Fellow Bret Schafer quoted in The Washington Post

The U.S. has a new strategy for combating foreign election interference, but is it working? Senior Fellow Bret Schafer quoted in NBC News

When could voters learn who will be the next US president? Co-Managing Director Rachael Dean Wilson quoted in Scripps News

Voters will see fast results in Georgia’s presidential election. Co-Managing Director Rachael Dean Wilson quoted in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Recent safeguards should quash efforts to overturn election results, experts say. Co-Managing Director Rachael Dean Wilson quoted in Stateline

Ukraine’s future uncertain after Donald Trump victory. Senior Manager for Europe and Fellow Vassilis Ntousas quoted in Euronews

“They’re up to mischief, it seems. They don’t want us to have a smooth, fair, and accurate election, and if they can get us to fight among ourselves, they can count that as a victory.”

—Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, responding to claims of Russian threat actors calling in faux bomb threats to polling sites in the state on Election Day.

The views expressed in GMF publications and commentary are the views of the author alone.