Russian influence operations targeting US elections have begun: Microsoft

Microsoft said Wednesday that Russian online campaigns to influence the upcoming U.S. presidential election have picked up pace over the past 45 days, but at a slower pace than in previous elections.

Russia-linked accounts are spreading divisive content aimed at the American public, including criticism of U.S. support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, researchers at the tech giant said in a report.

The Russian embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment, but the Kremlin said last month it would not interfere in the US elections in November. It also rejected US accusations that it orchestrated campaigns to influence the 2016 and 2020 US presidential elections.

While the Russian activity Microsoft has observed is not as intense as around the previous election, it could increase in the coming months, the researchers said.

The most productive of such Russian campaigns is linked to the Russian presidential administration, she added. Another focuses on posting disinformation online in different languages, with messages typically beginning with an apparent whistleblower or citizen journalist posting content to a video channel. That content is then covered by a network of websites, including DC Weekly, Miami Chronical, and The Intel Drop.

“Ultimately, after the story has circulated online for several days or weeks, the American public repeats and reposts this disinformation, likely unaware of the original source,” Microsoft said.

There has been a “notable uptick” in hacking by a Russian group Microsoft calls Star Blizzard or Cold River, which targets Western think tanks, the company said.

“Star Blizzard’s current focus on US political figures and policy circles could be the first in a series of hacking campaigns intended to sway the Kremlin’s results heading into November.” Malicious use of artificial intelligence by foreign rivals targeting the US elections is a major concern cited by US political observers, but Microsoft said it found that simpler digital forgeries were more common than deepfakes. Audio manipulations have a greater impact than video, it added.

“Rarely has the deployment of generative AI content by nation states achieved wide reach on social media, and in only a few cases have we seen genuine deception of the public by such content,” the researchers said.

“The simplest manipulations, rather than the most complex applications of AI, are likely to be the pieces of content that have the most impact.”

First print: April 17, 2024 | 11:49 PM IST