Source : BRICS NEWS | AI-generated illustration
WASHINGTON, November 1 – United States intelligence officials are tracking efforts by Russia, China and Iran to influence American voters ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections, even as election officials say the channels for sharing warnings about foreign threats are weaker than in past cycles.
The news aggregator BRICS News reported on X late on November 1, 2026, Malaysia time, that US intelligence officials were monitoring attempts by Russia, China and Iran to influence American voters. CNN reported on Sunday that intelligence officials are tracking “familiar efforts” by the three countries, but that cuts to federal programmes have hobbled officials’ ability to relay that information to the state and local officials who run elections.
What each country is doing
As in previous cycles, Russia is using disinformation to denigrate Democratic candidates, while China is focused on down-ballot candidates seen as anti-China, according to people briefed on US intelligence assessments, CNN said. Private firms tracking the activity say suspected Russian operatives have posted a wave of AI-altered videos on X attacking Democratic candidates in the final weeks of the campaign.
Senator Mark Warner and Representative Jim Himes, the top Democrats on the Senate and House intelligence committees, said recent assessments showed influence efforts by Russia, Iran and China, with a “grab bag” of other actors, including North Korea, weighing action, CBS News reported. Himes said Russian campaigns were also “particularly focused in a bipartisan way on people and things that have been aggressive on Ukraine”, while Warner said Chinese operations had been more selective and aimed at local races.
US officials are also wary of Iran’s hackers and trolls, CNN said, noting that this is the first major US election since the war with Iran began in February. Himes argued that Iran has “a massive lever right now to influence the election” through the price of oil, which remained above $100 a barrel on Friday.
No sign of vote tampering
The lawmakers said intelligence assessments showed no indication of foreign efforts to manipulate voting machinery or vote counts. “Nothing out there suggests that there is either the capability or the intent to do interference,” Himes said, according to CBS News, contrasting that with what he called “a pretty robust influence environment”. The intelligence community distinguishes between influence, aimed at swaying voters, and interference, which targets the technical side of voting.
Strained federal channels
Election security experts told CNN that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which played a central role in defending past elections, was gutted during President Donald Trump’s second term. A mid-October classified briefing for election officials was marred by technical problems and had to be rescheduled. “I don’t know a single election official, Democrat or Republican, who is actively sharing cybersecurity information with the feds this time around,” said David Becker of the Center for Election Innovation and Research.
A CISA spokesperson told CNN the agency had launched an information-sharing tool and that “authorized federal, state, and local government partners are granted access daily upon their request”. Voting in the midterms takes place on November 3. LNA will continue to follow developments.
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