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U.S. officials and researchers warned that reduced federal counter-influence programs and fewer election-specific briefings have weakened coordination ahead of the midterm elections, even as federal agencies maintain that election-security support continues. Nextgov/FCW reported that the Trump administration dismantled several counter-influence programs, following an earlier cooling of cooperation during the Biden administration amid litigation over government interactions with social media companies. ODNI has assigned election-threat intelligence coordinators, CISA has outlined election-support plans, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed military agencies to prioritize foreign election threats.
AI is reducing the cost and expertise needed to generate persuasive political content, identify audiences, test messages, and automate influence-campaign adjustments. Officials anticipate greater use by Russia and China, with pro-Iran groups also using these capabilities. State election offices are countering misleading voting information, referring threats to law enforcement, and preparing contingency plans. Officials cautioned that convincing content and high engagement do not prove changes in voting behavior, but widespread AI-generated political videos could erode trust in both fabricated and authentic footage.
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed Cyber Command and military intelligence agencies to prioritize foreign election threats and coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security.
CISA outlined its election-support plans in the month preceding the report. The agency said it would activate an Incident Coordination Group before and during Election Day to share information and coordinate incident response.
An election nonprofit used CISA's election operations room to rapidly assess polling-site bomb threats in November 2024. U.S. officials later said the threats may have been tied to Russia.
Russian interference attempts during the 2016 U.S. election exposed information gaps, according to Bret Schafer of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue.
A current U.S. official said pro-Iran groups had used AI more overtly in recent months amid the war described in the report. The source did not identify specific operations or victims.
ODNI assigned officials to coordinate intelligence concerning election threats as the administration maintained that federal election-security support continued.
The report said ODNI's Foreign Malign Influence Center faced a similar fate to other dismantled counter-influence programs under then-director Tulsi Gabbard.
The Trump administration closed the State Department office responsible for countering foreign information threats.
The Trump administration disbanded the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force as part of its dismantling of federal counter-influence programs.
The Trump administration shuttered CISA's election-disinformation work as part of a rollback of federal counter-influence programs, largely on censorship grounds.
Cooperation began cooling during the Biden administration as GOP litigation over federal interactions with social media companies made participants more cautious.
A former U.S. official recalled that preparations began roughly a year before the 2020 election. Coordination calls sometimes included 80 to 100 participants, including private companies.
Coordination among government, technology companies, and researchers expanded during Trump's first term following the information gaps exposed by Russian election interference attempts.
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US Cyber Command and the NSA have repeatedly used covert cyber operations to blunt foreign election interference, including ejecting Iranian hackers from a municipal website used to post unofficial 2020 results before false information could be spread and disrupting Russian influence operators targeting voters ahead of the 2024 election. Officials said the 2020 intrusion did not affect voting, ballot tabulation, or certified results, and described the broader mission as a joint effort with CISA, the FBI, DHS, and other agencies to counter cyberattacks, troll farms, fake websites, and AI-enabled propaganda tied to Russia, Iran, China, North Korea, and non-state actors. At the same time, the US government has reduced parts of the election security apparatus built after 2016. Reporting says the Trump administration put CISA election security staff who worked with states on leave and dismantled or downsized programs across ODNI, the FBI, the State Department, and CISA that tracked and exposed foreign influence campaigns. Current and former officials warned that the cuts weaken coordination with state and local election officials, reduce visibility into ongoing threats, and leave the country less prepared for future elections even as harassment of election workers and concern over the safety of cyber personnel have pushed agencies to keep some leadership roles out of public view.
Jun 29, 2026
US Cyber Command secretly targeted at least two Russian companies involved in covert online influence activity ahead of the 2024 US election, according to reporting that said the operation was part of a wider federal effort with the FBI, DHS, and other agencies to expose and disrupt foreign meddling aimed at voters in key swing states. The campaign reportedly pushed anti-Ukraine and anti-politician narratives, and officials said the US action slowed the Russian operation even though propaganda content continued through Election Day. The activity fits a longer pattern of Russian interference in US politics, following earlier US government findings that Moscow targeted election systems in 2016 and subsequent Justice Department charges against Russian individuals and companies tied to interference operations. Officials and former officials warn that many of the structures built after the 2016 election to counter foreign influence have since been dismantled, reduced, or paused, including functions at ODNI, the FBI, the State Department, and CISA. The rollback comes despite continued threats from Russian, Chinese, and Iranian-linked actors using fake websites, AI-enabled propaganda, and cyber activity affecting election infrastructure, raising concerns that the United States has less visibility and fewer coordinated defenses in place for future elections.
Jun 29, 2026
Four senior congressional Democrats urged 25 technology companies, including Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI and TikTok, to strengthen election safeguards ahead of the U.S. midterms. Their letter warned that inconsistent enforcement against deceptive content, reduced trust and safety staffing, and inaccurate chatbot responses could enable foreign influence operations or prevent eligible voters from casting ballots successfully. The lawmakers cited continuing Russian disinformation campaigns; a September Institute for Strategic Dialogue study also found that Meta’s Muse Spark chatbot twice supplied an election date one day later than the actual date. The lawmakers requested stronger moderation of demonstrably false voting-procedure information, dedicated reporting tools for election officials, independent fact-checking, researcher access and notifications to users who engaged with misleading content. The appeal comes amid reported weakening of cooperation among federal agencies, technology companies and independent researchers tracking foreign influence operations, alongside expectations that Russia and China will increasingly use advanced AI to expand manipulation efforts.
Oct 20, 2026