Meta on Thursday predicted Russian actors will try to influence U.S. elections.
The company said in its “Adversarial Threat Report,” which covers efforts to manipulate public debate, that Russia-based operations will promote supportive content about candidates opposing Ukraine aid, and criticize those who want to help the country defend itself.
“This could take the shape of blaming economic hardships in the U.S. on providing financial help to Ukraine, painting Ukraine’s government as unreliable, or amplifying voices expressing pro-Russia views on the war and its prospects,” the report said.
Meta noted that Russian operations have tried to undermine Ukraine in countries around the world since 2022, when Russia began a full-scale invasion. Some campaigns focused on nations like Moldova, which borders Ukraine, and Georgia, situated south of Russia.
“No matter who the operators are, the narrative across different networks is shared: supporting Ukraine’s government in its defense against Russia is detrimental for both Ukraine and its allies,” the report said.
A February report from NBC News said that Russia was spreading disinformation, which is false information intended to mislead, to damage President Joe Biden and other Democrats nine months away from the general election.
Biden has supported sending aid to Ukraine throughout its war with Russia, and Democrats have backed legislation to do so. The president ended his reelection campaign last month after skepticism grew over his ability to defeat former President Donald Trump again.
A Senate committee found in 2020 that the Russian government engaged in an “aggressive, multi-faceted effort” to influence the 2016 presidential election, when Trump defeated Hillary Clinton. At one point, operatives carried out phishing attacks that targeted emails associated with Clinton’s personal office, according to the committee.
Shortly before, WikiLeaks published stolen documents, which led to then-President Trump declaring, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” the committee noted.
Trump has pledged to cut aid to Ukraine, telling his supporters in June that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is the “greatest salesman” of any politician in history.
“He just left four days ago with $60 billion, and he gets home, and he announces that he needs another $60 billion. It never ends. It never ends,” Trump said. “I will have that settled prior to taking the White House as president-elect.”
Content from The National Desk is provided by Sinclair, the parent company of FOX45 News.
