Information influence in the 2024 US election
The Agency has been monitoring US elections for many years. We look at what happens before and after, then we perform our own analyses and assessments. It is important that we learn from other countries so that we can develop and reinforce Sweden’s resilience.
Information influence increases in connection with elections
It is pursued not only just before an election – it is a long-term process that can start long before the election itself. One example is Russia, which uses a technique of building up influence infrastructure well in advance. At this stage, for example, fake accounts and sites are created that are then ready to use. Ahead of an election, this infrastructure is activated, and in parallel other influencing techniques can be implemented, such as cyber attacks and smear campaigns.
By attempting to influence a society over a long period of time, concerns among the population about something being wrong are amplified. The objective is not only to sway the election outcome, but also to create mistrust and undermine confidence in the democratic process and our institutions.
While the extent of influence perpetrated ahead of an election is difficult to gauge, it can be seen that disinformation and rumour-spreading rise in connection with elections, which is also the case in the US.
New information influence techniques
In the 2024 US election, it could be seen that known influence techniques were used, while new techniques were also developed.
AI
A new trend that could be seen in the election was actors using social media to spread and amplify information through botnets (fake accounts). Websites similar to other legitimate news sites, such as the Washington Post, are created. AI technology is then used to generate videos, audio files and images, and also texts that are used in articles. When the user then ends up on the site, they think they are reading articles produced by the Washington Post, which is not the case. Texts are also produced for comments and posts on social media that, using automated accounts, gain rapid dissemination in those channels.
The articles use different types of narratives about what the actors are seeking to influence, such as reducing support for Ukraine or for NATO. They also seek to reduce the legitimacy of the electoral process, and create polarisation in the US population, for example by using issues of concern such as migration.
Proxies
Another influence technique that was used is proxies to attempt to sway a target group. Use of proxies is nothing new. It enables foreign powers or other actors to conceal the fact that they are behind a campaign, making the general public think that it is a matter of legitimate internal opinion-leading. The method of using proxies was exposed during the latest US presidential election.
Hack and leak campaigns
In these campaigns, actors hack into someone’s e-mail and then leak the information or documents they find. It can also involve hacking into someone’s e-mail and leaking manipulated or fake information along with the real e-mails. This technique can be used to damage trust in an election candidate or the electoral process.
Attempts at raising awareness about misleading information
We have seen in the past that the greatest threat to Europe and Sweden is Russia, and the same conclusion has also been drawn by US authorities. During the US election, Russia actively attempted to influence the electoral process and also proved to be the greatest threat.
Ahead of the election, US authorities had been working to reinforce the resilience of the population. For example, through external communication, information was provided about the Russian threat and specific Russian actors behind the influence attempts. A reward of up to USD 10 million was announced for information about foreign influence actors, and fake sites were shut down as part of that work. These actions helped to raise awareness of information influence.