US companies are unwittingly pushing foreign disinformation, IC warns
Malicious actors are hiring unwitting communications and marketing firms to help, intelligence officials said Monday.
Alexandra Kelley | July 29, 2024 03:00 PM ET
Foreign actors are working hard to spread harmful narratives in the runup to the November elections—even hiring U.S. marketing and communications firms to help, U.S. officials said Monday.
The officials spoke as the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released an advisory entitled "100 Days Until Election 2024; Election Security Update as of Late-July 2024." Officials said malicious foreign actors are using social media and other online platforms to plant and push their narratives, and purchasing the unwitting services of legitimate marketing and communications firms to do so.
“The American public should know that content that they read online, especially on social media, could be foreign propaganda, even if it appears to be coming from fellow Americans or originating in the United States,” an ODNI official said on a Monday press call. “In short, foreign influence actors are getting better at hiding their hand and using Americans to do it.”
Key culprits behind these operations are the "Big Three": Russia, China, and Iran. Intelligence community officials told reporters that Russia has a documented history of building networks within the U.S. and other western entities to create content across websites to promote a pro-Russia government narrative.
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2024/07/malicious-foreign-actors-exploit-us-entities-push-disinformation-ic-warns/398408/
