FBI chief says Russia is trying to interfere in election to undermine Biden

[brooklynite]

Source: The Hill

FBI Director Christopher Wray said Thursday that Russian agents were trying to undermine Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in the lead-up to the November election.

“The intelligence community’s assessment is that Russia continues to try to influence our election, primarily through what we would call malign foreign influence,” Wray said during testimony before the House Homeland Security Committee.

“We certainly have seen very active efforts by the Russians to influence our elections in 2020 through what I would call more the malign influence side of things — social media, use of proxies, state media, online journals, etc. — in an effort to both sow divisiveness and discord ... and primarily to denigrate Vice President Biden and what the Russians see as an anti-Russian establishment,” Wray added.

His comments came a month after William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, put out a public assessment warning that Russia was attempting to interfere in the 2020 elections in favor of President Trump by undermining Biden.


Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/516912-fbi-director-wray-warns-russia-is-interfering-in-election-to-undermine

[SWBTATTReg]

1. Screw the Russians. You would think that they would want to turn the page, move on to better ...

relationship with the US, especially with a new president on the horizon. And especially since the US economy is 20 times that of Russia. Both countries could really benefit from a better relationship, on equal footing, but NO, obviously Putin is still having a hissy fit, w/ HRC, and Obama, still hates the USA. And rump enables Putin in every little way. Disgusting PINO, in treating our adversary this way (I call them adversary, since they are interfering in our elections). Just wait, one day our time will come, and Russia and others will be made to pay in interfering in our elections.

[love_katz]

2. I will be very glad to see that day.

The day that Russia pays for interfering in our elections, and especially for everything they have done to promote Agolf Twitler.

[yardwork]

10. Global chaos benefits Putin.

Weakening other nations is Putin's goal. It benefits him personally by allowing him to consolidate power and wealth.

[SWBTATTReg]

11. These people are part of that group what when does it ever get enough, enough money?, enough...

power?, enough sex?, enough XXX? It never gets to be 'enough'. Pathetic.

[summer_in_TX]

3. Ran across an article on Kremlin disinformation techniques today.

Big Lies and Rotten Herrings: 17 Kremlin Disinformation Techniques You Need to Know Now by Zarina Zabrisky

I missed it when originally published back in March. Zabrisky posted the link to it in a thread discussing The Social Dilemma, an important new Netflix documentary on Netflix. A number of tech pioneers in on the ground floor of their organizations realized that the various social media, no matter the benefits, are an active danger.

The documentary and the article explain a lot about the rise of Qanon and extremist violence.

[SWBTATTReg]

4. Thanks for posting, very informative. When we were setting up the Internet back in the early

80s (the physical links, etc.), we tried to visualize just how the Internet would be used by people, didn't ever visualize how it's being used today, no way, shape, or form. One thing we did know already back then, was how easy it was to propagate false rumors etc., especially in an online environment (the article you were so nice to provide mentioned such, see below).

The tactics they're using are just what a lot of us on DU have cautioned about, that these people are not critically thinking things through, prior to believing the nonsense being spewed out by rump, and should know better. I think that they're getting there, that is, after so many lies and distortions, what can be believed of what trump says? It's getting to the point that any decent news agency fact checks trump's claims immediately and people are getting turned off by the constant overexposure.

--snip--
Suggestion is used to target groups that lack critical thinking, such as the very religious, under-educated, conformists, youth, and people in a state of panic, fear or stress. Using the “authority aura” effect, recognized leaders deliver emotionally charged speeches. Group environments, such as rallies and online forums, create the effect of “psychological contagion” and help to consolidate people around the ideas presented.

For example, in 2016, trolls from the Internet Research Agency (IRA), a St.Petersburg troll farm, organized pro-Trump rallies in Florida, Idaho and Philadelphia, targeting miners and low-income demographics.
--snip--

[summer_in_TX]

6. Trump and the GOP have resisted all efforts to fund increased election security.

Their naked lust for power is repulsive.

[onetexan]

5. On Morning Joe earlier it was mentioned Barr thinks the FBI should report to him and that he can

use the agency to go after anyone he or Trump pleases. Full fascism in plain sight. We need to kick his & the Con's fascist butt out in nov.

[ck4829]

7. K&R

[xfreedom2020]

8. sounds vaguely

familiar....

[Cha]

9. No kidding.. Thanks for Confirming, Director Wray.