Russia’s attempts to rig the US election in favor of convicted felon Donald Trump are intensifying, according to a new article by the Washington Post.
The article claims that the US has implemented a number of counter-measures to combat Russian influence on the election. This includes public warnings, the seizure of 32 web domains publishing fake articles, and indictments. But none of this was enough to stop the spread.
The outlet adds that instead of linking to these faux web domains, Russian bot accounts are linking the same disinformation from various other doppelganger sites, which keep popping up.
What conspiracies are being spread?
The same goes for various conspiracy theories. The Post claims that Russian accounts have been spreading misinformation, including claims Haitian immigrants are eating pets and that Democrat nominee Kamala Harris has Alzheimer’s and ties with Big Pharma.
It’s pretty clear that this disinformation is spread by bots. This is because, as the Post points out, fabricated articles like the ones about Haitians have 900 retweets but no likes, which, reportedly, is indicative of bot activity.
But according to experts, the worst is yet to come. Microsoft employee Chris Watts, for instance, told the Post that “the audience is much more vulnerable the closer we get to Election Day.”
Similarly, disinformation and cybersecurity expert Thomas Rid told the outlet that while he doesn’t fear disinformation, he’s worried about “a real, newsworthy leak of files on the Harris campaign that will drive the news cycle.”
