Foreign Powers Meddled in 2022 US Congressional Elections, Intelligence Assessment Reveals
Foreign government interference in the 2022 US congressional elections escalated from previous years, as stated in a declassified intelligence assessment A wide array of foreign actors, including China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba, actively engaged in targeting the elections
The declassified intelligence assessment released on Monday indicated an increase in foreign government efforts to interfere in the 2022 US midterm elections compared to the 2018 elections. The report identified a "diverse and growing group of foreign actors" participating in these efforts.
Although there was no known directive from any foreign leader to launch a comprehensive influence campaign like Russia did in 2016, the assessment revealed that China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba all attempted to meddle in the 2022 congressional elections.
The intelligence community has high confidence that China "tacitly approved efforts to influence a handful of midterm races involving members of both US political parties." This is likely part of a series of directives by Chinese Communist Party leaders since 2020 to "intensify efforts to influence US policy and public opinion in China's favor."
According to the assessment, China has intensified efforts to heighten sociopolitical divisions but still focused more on specific candidates based on whether Beijing perceived their policy positions to be in its favor. The report states that party leaders have repeatedly instructed officials to focus on Congress because they are convinced that it is a hub of anti-China activity.
Beijing likely saw the US midterm elections as a chance to discredit the US democratic model, often emphasizing US divisions on social issues like abortion and gun control. US intelligence agencies have concluded that China has been more involved in election influence activities, which is consistent with reports from tech firms. In September, Microsoft analysts warned that suspected Chinese operatives used images created by artificial intelligence to imitate American voters online and spark discussions on divisive political topics.
The US intelligence report indicates that Chinese officials felt they had more freedom to carry out influence operations during the midterms due to perceived lower scrutiny and retaliation risk from the US compared to 2020. Additionally, the intelligence community assessed with high confidence that Russia aimed to discredit the Democratic Party and undermine confidence in the election to diminish US support for Ukraine.
The intelligence community discovered extensive research and analysis of US audiences conducted by the Kremlin. They identified key demographics, narratives, and platforms to amplify Russia's message. The assessment found that targeted audiences included US constituencies sympathetic to Russia's emphasis on traditional values. It describes these findings as some of the most explicit reporting to date on Russia's US-focused influence operations.
Additionally, the assessment confirms that Russian military officials proposed delaying the Russian withdrawal from the Ukrainian city of Kherson until the day after the 2022 midterms to avoid giving a named US political party a perceived win before the election.
The assessment revealed that Russian actors attempted to undermine confidence in Western democratic institutions by casting doubt on the integrity of the midterm elections and spreading false claims about vulnerable voting software and potential cheating by Democrats. Similarly, the assessment detailed Iran's influence activities during the midterms, noting that Tehran aimed to exploit social divisions and weaken trust in US democratic institutions, although its efforts were restricted by other priorities such as managing internal unrest.
Intelligence officials discovered that foreign actors opted not to pursue technically challenging methods to alter votes, but instead focused on undermining the public's trust in the integrity of US election results. Additionally, the intelligence community observed that countries like Cuba engaged in targeted efforts to either support or undermine specific candidates based on their willingness to advance policies aligning with that country's interests.
The assessment did not study the impact the influence campaigns may have had on the outcome of the 2022 elections.
CNNs Sean Lyngaas contributed to this report.
