Russia has mounted huge social media operation to manipulate the public and influence the outcome of the US presidential election in favor of Trump, say spies

Russian intelligence services person erstwhile again group their eyes connected nan US predetermination successful an effort to instal ex President Donald Trump successful nan White House, a caller study alleges. 

Several US officials pinch nan Office of nan Director of National Intelligence successful Washington confirmed nan beingness of nan Russian scheme erstwhile speaking to The Wall Street Journal. 

'We haven't observed a displacement successful Russia's preferences for nan statesmanlike title from past elections,' a elder charismatic is quoted arsenic saying. Various information agencies person antecedently confirmed that akin Kremlin attacks connected US populist favored Trump.

The study besides mentions a smaller Iranian power intended to thrust discontent, encouraging group successful nan US to protestation Israel's warfare successful Gaza, Avril Haines, nan head of nationalist intelligence said this week. 

By contract, nan WSJ study says that China will not beryllium progressive successful immoderate sabotage arsenic Beijing views some US President Joe Biden and Trump arsenic being hostile. That decree goes arsenic acold arsenic preventing authorities officials from moreover mentioning a penchant successful nan election. 

In summation to its online operations, nan study alleges that agents are attempting to power members of Congress but nan standard of nan cognition is smaller than nan 1 seen successful 2016, which aided Trump's ascendancy. 

Iran's cognition meantime is much that of a 'chaos agent,' Haines said.

'Americans who participate successful protests are, successful bully faith, expressing their views connected nan conflict successful Gaza—this intelligence doesn’t bespeak otherwise.'

Haines added that galore protesters whitethorn not cognize that they are conversing pinch agents from a overseas government.  

On Tuesday, nan Justice Department claimed a triumph aft agents successfully collapsed up a Russian-run bot farm. 

Officials described nan net cognition arsenic portion of an ongoing effort to sow discord successful nan U.S. done nan creation of fictitious societal media profiles that purport to beryllium to authentic Americans

The profiles are really designed to beforehand nan intends of nan Russian government, including by spreading disinformation astir its warfare pinch Ukraine. 

The strategy was organized successful 2022 aft a elder editor astatine RT, a Russian-state-funded media statement that has registered pinch nan Justice Department arsenic a overseas agent, helped create exertion for a alleged societal media bot farm, information officials say.

It received nan support and financial support of nan Kremlin, pinch an serviceman of Russia's Federal Security Service - aliases FSB - starring a backstage intelligence statement that promoted disinformation connected societal media done a web of clone accounts.

 The RT property agency did not respond straight to a mobility astir nan allegations.

The disruption of nan bot workplace comes arsenic U.S. officials person raised alarms astir nan imaginable for AI exertion to effect this year's elections and amid ongoing concerns that overseas power campaigns by adversaries could sway nan opinions of unsuspecting voters.

This happened during nan 2016 statesmanlike run erstwhile Russians launched a immense but hidden societal media trolling run aimed successful portion astatine helping Trump conclusion Democrat Hillary Clinton.

'Today's actions correspond a first successful disrupting a Russian-sponsored Generative AI-enhanced societal media bot farm,' FBI Director Christopher Wray said successful a statement.

'Russia intended to usage this bot workplace to disseminate AI-generated overseas disinformation, scaling their activity pinch nan assistance of AI to undermine our partners successful Ukraine and power geopolitical narratives favorable to nan Russian government.'

Among nan clone posts, according to nan Justice Department, was a video that was posted by a purported Minneapolis, Minnesota resident that showed Russian President Vladimir Putin saying that areas of Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania were 'gifts' to those countries from liberating Russian forces during World War II.

In different instance, nan Justice Department said, personification posing arsenic a U.S. constituent responded to a national candidate's societal media posts astir nan warfare successful Ukraine pinch a video of Putin justifying Russia's actions.

As portion of nan disruption, nan Justice Department seized 2 domain names and searched 968 accounts connected X, nan societal media level formerly known arsenic Twitter.

According to a associated cybersecurity advisory released Tuesday by U.S., Dutch and Canadian authorities, nan package was utilized to dispersed disinformation to countries including Poland, Germany, nan Netherlands, Spain, Ukraine and Israel.

The advisory said that arsenic of past June, nan package - known arsenic Meliorator - only worked connected X but that its functionality astir apt could beryllium expanded to different societal media networks.