Microsoft said Russia and China are beginning to influence the upcoming US presidential election. The company notes that social media and AI technologies are being used to manipulate voters, and also highlights the differences between campaigns run by actors linked to Russia and China.
According to insights and analysis from the second Microsoft Threat Intelligence Election Report, the company believes malicious foreign influence in the next election will be at a slower pace than in 2016 and 2020 due to fewer contested primaries. states.
“Russia’s efforts are focused on undermining U.S. support for Ukraine, while China seeks to exploit social polarization to undermine confidence in U.S. democratic institutions,” Microsoft said. Stated. The company also downplayed the use of sophisticated AI content, but noted that simpler “shallow” AI-enhanced content or fake AI-voiced content is likely to be more successful.
“Russia was involved in disinformation related to Ukraine.”
According to the report, Russian influence operations have gained momentum over the past two months, with the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center (MTAC) identifying at least 70 Russian actors involved in disinformation focused on Ukraine. claims to have tracked. These actors are reportedly using traditional and social media for their campaigns.
Microsoft said Russian threat actor Storm-1516 “successfully delivered anti-Ukraine rhetoric to U.S. audiences using consistent patterns across multiple languages.”
The group begins by introducing individuals as whistleblowers or citizen journalists and planting the seeds of their stories on a dedicated video channel. The actor then showed a video “from a seemingly unrelated global network of secretly maintained websites,” followed by an expanded version of “Russian expatriates, officials, and fellow travelers.” U.S. viewers then “repost the misinformation, perhaps without being aware of the original source.”
“China is adopting a multi-layered approach” Microsoft said that unlike Russia, China seeks to exploit existing socio-political rifts. According to the report, China is increasingly leveraging AI in election-related influence campaigns, with “actors associated with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leveraging AI technologies generated by Effectively creating and enhancing images, memes, and videos.”
Additionally, Microsoft noted that AI-enhanced content has more impact than fully AI-generated content, and AI audio has more impact than AI video.
The Microsoft report also notes that although Iran’s activities are limited, it is “likely to launch an emergency cyber-based influence operation as the U.S. election day approaches.”
According to insights and analysis from the second Microsoft Threat Intelligence Election Report, the company believes malicious foreign influence in the next election will be at a slower pace than in 2016 and 2020 due to fewer contested primaries. states.
“Russia’s efforts are focused on undermining U.S. support for Ukraine, while China seeks to exploit social polarization to undermine confidence in U.S. democratic institutions,” Microsoft said. Stated. The company also downplayed the use of sophisticated AI content, but noted that simpler “shallow” AI-enhanced content or fake AI-voiced content is likely to be more successful.
“Russia was involved in disinformation related to Ukraine.”
According to the report, Russian influence operations have gained momentum over the past two months, with the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center (MTAC) identifying at least 70 Russian actors involved in disinformation focused on Ukraine. claims to have tracked. These actors are reportedly using traditional and social media for their campaigns.
Microsoft said Russian threat actor Storm-1516 “successfully delivered anti-Ukraine rhetoric to U.S. audiences using consistent patterns across multiple languages.”
The group begins by introducing individuals as whistleblowers or citizen journalists and planting the seeds of their stories on a dedicated video channel. The actor then showed a video “from a seemingly unrelated global network of secretly maintained websites,” followed by an expanded version of “Russian expatriates, officials, and fellow travelers.” U.S. viewers then “repost the misinformation, perhaps without being aware of the original source.”
“China is adopting a multi-layered approach” Microsoft said that unlike Russia, China seeks to exploit existing socio-political rifts. According to the report, China is increasingly leveraging AI in election-related influence campaigns, with “actors associated with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leveraging AI technologies generated by Effectively creating and enhancing images, memes, and videos.”
Expanding
Additionally, Microsoft noted that AI-enhanced content has more impact than fully AI-generated content, and AI audio has more impact than AI video.
The Microsoft report also notes that although Iran’s activities are limited, it is “likely to launch an emergency cyber-based influence operation as the U.S. election day approaches.”
