Russia tried to influence U.S. elections in 2022 and will do it again, nation's top intel agency says

Russia conducted malign power operations successful the 2022 U.S. midterm elections and is utilizing progressively clandestine means to "penetrate the Western accusation environment," the U.S. quality assemblage said successful a caller report Wednesday.

Moscow volition besides enactment to "strengthen ties" to Americans successful media and authorities arsenic it works to transportation retired "future power operations," the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said successful the latest variation of its yearly appraisal of worldwide threats to U.S. nationalist security.

The 2023 study came 4 months aft the astir caller U.S. midterm elections, wherever concerns astir Russian power efforts were much muted successful examination with the 2 erstwhile statesmanlike predetermination cycles successful 2016 and 2020.

The quality assemblage recovered that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an power run successful the 2016 predetermination with a "clear preference" for then-candidate Donald Trump, who would spell connected to triumph the race.

Trump — who during that run had called on Russia to find his then-rival Hillary Clinton's emails — aboriginal questioned whether Russia interfered successful the 2016 election. During a gathering with Putin successful 2018, Trump indicated that helium believed the Russian leader's assertion that the Kremlin did not meddle successful the 2016 contention — fundamentally siding with Putin's stance implicit his ain quality community's assessment. Trump aboriginal backtracked connected those remarks.

Ahead of past November's midterms, researchers reportedly identified Russian efforts to interfere by utilizing societal media accounts posing arsenic Americans to stoke partisan choler and undermine spot successful the electoral process. The FBI and the Department of Justice's cybersecurity bureau had warned up of the midterms that overseas actors were apt to effort and dispersed disinformation earlier and aft Election Day.

The office, which oversees the nation's 18 quality agencies, added that latest informing astir Russian predetermination meddling was starker and much definite than successful its erstwhile report.

In 2022, for instance, the bureau determined that Russia "almost certainly" sees U.S. elections arsenic opportunities for malign power to power its overseas argumentation goals. Moscow volition besides "probably" effort to cultivate relationships with U.S. figures successful authorities and the media "in hopes of processing vectors for aboriginal power operations," it said astatine that time.

In the 2023 edition, the bureau dropped the words "almost certainly" and "probably" from its assessment.

The study added, "Russia's power actors person adapted their efforts to progressively fell their hand," utilizing a "vast ecosystem of Russian proxy websites, individuals, and organizations that look to beryllium autarkic quality sources."

Through creating archetypal contented oregon seizing connected preexisting divisive discourse, Moscow "intensifies that contented to further penetrate the Western accusation environment," according to the assessment. "These activities tin see disseminating mendacious contented and amplifying accusation perceived arsenic beneficial to Russian power efforts oregon conspiracy theories."

Russia's already-tense relations with the U.S. and different occidental powers person been hugely strained by country's invasion of Ukraine. The quality assemblage warned successful its menace appraisal that Russia, which holds the world's largest stockpile of atomic weapons is continuing to make long-range nuclear-capable missiles.