China, Russia, and Cuba launched operations to interfere in the 2022 midterm elections, according to a U.S. intelligence report released on Monday.
The heavily redacted report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence indicates that each country’s campaign deployed differing tactics to misinform the American public. The report does not name individuals allegedly targeted or detail the impact of the purported foreign interference efforts.
Intelligence officials wrote with confidence that China “tacitly approved efforts to try to influence a handful of midterm races involving members of both U.S. political parties.” This, the agency wrote, was part of a continued effort from Beijing to “intensify efforts to influence U.S. policy and public opinion in China’s favor.”
Chinese leaders, the report states, “repeatedly have instructed officials to focus on Congress because Beijing is convinced that Congress is a locus of anti-China activity.” This included targeting specific candidates.
“Beijing almost certainly viewed the U.S. midterm elections as an opportunity to portray the U.S. democratic model as chaotic, ineffective, and unrepresentative, and frequently directed [People’s Republic of China] messaging to highlight U.S. divisions on social issues, such as abortion and gun control,” the report alleges.
Russia aimed “to denigrate the Democratic Party before the midterm elections and undermine confidence in the election, most likely to undermine U.S. support for Ukraine,” per the document. This effort reportedly included a proposal from Russian military officials to delay withdrawal from Ukraine until after the midterms as a way to “avoid giving a named U.S. political party a perceived win before the election.”
The report further details alleged efforts from Russia to target Americans with “traditional values” and doubts about the legitimacy of the election.
Cuba reportedly “aimed at denigrating specific U.S. candidates in Florida.” The report details how Havana officials apparently targeted members of American media outlets who appeared more sympathetic to their cause.
