US tracking Russian, Iranian social media campaigns

Officials are currently tracking efforts by nations including Russia and Iran to influence Americans through social media platforms on issues including the 2020 election, a senior intelligence official told reporters on Monday.

The official said during a press conference that agencies are tracking efforts by Russia to “pit Americans against each other” through posting on social media, while China is using social media platforms to “influence the U.S. political environment.”

Iran is taking a similar approach to China and is utilizing these sites to “promote pro-Iranian interests,” added the official, who talked to the media under the condition they not be identified.

The senior intelligence official spoke during an election security briefing for reporters, which took place on the heels of a week during which the U.S. Senate hotly debated this topic.

The official emphasized that these efforts are would “not necessarily affect a tally of a vote, but they might influence a voting population.”

The official also noted that while there is activity on social media, there has been no evidence of recent attempts by foreign governments to infiltrate or interfere in voting machines.

The comments come months after special counsel Robert Mueller wrote in his report on the 2016 election that the Russian Internet Research Agency (IRA) “conducted social media operations targeted at large U.S. audiences with the goal of sowing discord in the U.S. political system.”

Mueller reported that as early as 2014, Russia’s IRA employees began operating accounts on social media sites that claimed to be controlled by U.S. activists, posting about “divisive U.S. political and social activities.”