Iran is intensifying its influence campaign against the United States Microsoft researchers said in a new reportIn addition to ongoing efforts by Russia and China to sway American public opinion ahead of the presidential election.
Researchers have identified websites linked to Iran’s operation targeting voters on the political left and right. One website, the Nio Thinker, bills itself as “your go-to destination for in-depth, progressive news and analysis that challenges the status quo,” and hosts articles bashing former President Donald Trump and hailing Vice President Kamala Harris as “our unexpected, clumsy savior.” does. .”
Another site identified by the researchers, Savannah Time, acts as a vocally conservative local sub-weekly site. “We’re thoughtful, loud, and have a good time,” says the site’s About section. It hosts articles purporting to be written by a “spokesperson for the International League for Women’s Rights” advocating more modest Olympic beach volleyball swimwear alongside articles praising Iran’s military might.
The Microsoft Threat Analysis Center noted that the sites are likely using artificial intelligence tools to extract content from legitimate US news outlets and repackage articles in a way that hides the source of the content.
According to Microsoft, the group behind the sites is part of a larger Iranian operation that has been operating since 2020 and operates more than a dozen other fake news sites targeting English-, French-, Spanish- and Arabic-speaking audiences. According to the researchers, the campaign was not a significant success with the US audience and the content of the sites was not widely shared on social media. But researchers say the sites could be used closer to the election.
In addition to efforts to create controversy and divide Americans ahead of the vote, researchers said another group linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted “a senior official in the presidential campaign” in June. was a former senior adviser and attempted to access an account belonging to a “former presidential candidate.” The names of the targeted persons were not mentioned in the report.
Iran’s UN mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but denied reports of interference In a statement to the Associated Press: “Iran has been the victim of numerous offensive cyber operations targeting its infrastructure, public service centers and industries. Iran’s cyber capabilities are defensive and proportionate to the threats it faces. Iran has no intention or plan to launch a cyber attack. The US presidential elections are an internal issue that Iran does not interfere with.
Microsoft’s report also noted continued Russian activity, including an operation at the request of the group’s researchers Storm-1516Produces and distributes propaganda videos supporting Trump and Russian interests a network of fake news sites has ties to a former US police officer. China-linked actors have also increasingly turned to video propaganda and used a network of online accounts to create outrage around pro-Palestinian university protests, the report said.
Researchers have expressed expectations that Iran, along with China and Russia, will step up cyberattacks against candidates and institutions and increase efforts to divide Americans with propaganda and disinformation in the run-up to the election.